


LGBT+ Avengers

by JAMES_BUCHANON_BARNES_YES



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-04
Updated: 2017-06-11
Packaged: 2018-11-09 00:25:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 25,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11093061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JAMES_BUCHANON_BARNES_YES/pseuds/JAMES_BUCHANON_BARNES_YES
Summary: Bucky is a transgender man working at a coffee shop and writing in his spare time, sometimes about LGBT+ topics. Steve is an artist and an activist against LGBT+ discrimination. The two used to be high school sweethearts, but have been out of touch for years. What happens after a chance encounter in the coffee shop where Bucky works?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if this story is a bit all over the place, I really just wanted an excuse to give my favorite super heroes LGBT+ identities. But, I think it's decent. Hope you enjoy!

"Ummmm..." The blonde said, staring hard at the menu, "You recommend anything?" he finally asked, exasperated and defeated, looking back at the man behind the counter. There was something about him recognizable to the blonde... but he couldn't really tell because of the beard net covering the miniscule amount of stubble on the guy's face.

"Yeah. If I were you, I'd go with a single origin espresso, but I tend to like things really strong. You look like you'd probably like a salted caramel latte, though. Sweet and salty, plus caffeine." The barista answered, surprising the blonde at the complexity of coffee. He usually just had a cup of black coffee with some sugar at home, and usually he didn't drink coffee in the afternoons anyway. But his friend had told him something mysterious that had convinced him to come to that particular coffee shop that particular afternoon. He smiled.

"Sounds wonderful. Yes, I think I'll have that." He said, finalizing his order.

"One salted caramel latte coming right up. That will be four seventy-five." The barista said in a smiling voice, ringing his customer up. The blonde paid, got his latte, and went to sit down in a booth in the back corner of the coffee shop. The barista frowned: seeing such a bright and shining person in such an antisocial position made him sad. But soon he was engrossed in helping the next customer, and forgot all about the blonde for the moment.

While the man with golden blonde hair drank his latte, he waited, pulling out a small sketchbook to draw in. Two hours and forty three minutes later, and the blonde had not moved from his booth. This sort of activity would normally make the barista suspicious, but, every five minutes the guy would look up from his sketchbook to glance around at the door, then go back to drawing, disappointed and sort've resembling a lost puppy. He looked like he'd been expecting someone who was extremely late. Perhaps the person he was waiting for wouldn't show up at all. The barista sighed, extremely curious, as he stepped into the 'employees only' area in the back of the store, his shift having ended.

The barista took off his hat and apron, as well as his beard net, which he'd always found stupid and irritating, since barely any stubble would grow on his face at all. He was left with just jeans and a light plaid shirt on, his shoulder-length brown hair falling into his face even more now that the hat was off. He sighed, putting his hair up into a tiny man-bun with the emergency hair tie he carried in his pocket. He slid his sunglasses onto his forehead, and stepped out into the main area of the shop. The blonde was still sitting in his booth, his expression like that of a sad child, which was ridiculous, because he was a really rather large man, extremely fit, with a jawline that showed no signs that he ever was a child. The brown-haired barista couldn't help but take interest in him, slowing to a halt by the guy's booth.

"You waiting for someone?" He asked, before sliding into the booth across from the stranger.

It took the blondie a second to look up from his sketchbook, but when he did he stopped dead in his tracks, his mouth hanging open slightly. Sitting before him was a man that looked just like his old high-school sweetheart. Only this was a man. Still, he couldn't help but think the guy sitting across the booth from him looked just like his old girlfriend.

"I'm sorry, but do you know a Briana?" The blonde asked incredulously, not sure exactly what he was supposed to say. Did she have a cousin that looked just like her or something? Suddenly, he worried he'd offended the man, as the guy's smile faltered and his brown eyes shot down to look at the floor. "Sorry! I didn't mean to offend you or anything. It's just that you have an uncanny resemblance to this girl I used to know." He tried to explain. The guy just smiled understandably.

"It's okay, I just... well, I'm transgender. I did used to be known as Briana, but now I go by Bucky. Did I know you in highschool or something?" Bucky asked, unsure about who the guy in front of him was, but sure he definitely did recognize the blondie from somewhere.

"Sure as hell you used to know me Bri- Bucky." The blonde said, smiling in a way that made Bucky's stomach twist, "It's me: Steve." Now it was Bucky's turn to sit, slack-jawed, gawking at Steve. He looked nothing like the scrawny kid Bucky had dated in high school. In fact, he was really in shape now. Like, muscles-bulging-out-of-shirt in shape. Yet, he wore them modestly, nothing like the douchebags who usually had muscles like that. Bucky just stared, unbelieving.

"Seriously?" Bucky asked, not even trying to hide his amazement, "I guess I'm not the only one who changed a lot, then." They both paused, staring at each other like the other one was an alien. "So, how's life been for you Steve? Got a job? New girlfriend?" Bucky asked, curious to see where Steve's life had taken him in recent years.

"Well," Steve said, chuckling a bit, "No girlfriend. In college I realized I was hella gay. Also: I'm what you call 'so-single-it's-sad'. I am so hopelessly forever alone. Not much of a way to get around that. About the job though, I tried military for a bit. I mean, I liked serving my country and all, but I much prefer to do things on my own. So now I'm, like, an artist. Haven't made it big or anything, but I'm not living on the streets either. I'm also kind've a part of this small, like, activist group, but we don't do much very often. What about you? What big dreams have you been chasin' lately?"

"Well, I mean, I work here. I'm also writing a bit. I've done some self-publishing, you know, mostly short stories. I got the whole story of my, you know, trans-ness, published in this book full of LGBT+ authors telling their stories. I'm pretty proud of that." Bucky smiled. His smile hadn't changed since high school, though the rest of him had quite a bit. Steve found him even more attractive now than he had in high school. Bucky hadn't said whether or not he was single, but Steve felt weird asking about it. He stalled and waited for Bucky to fill the silence. "So, you look pretty in shape now. You still have asthma?" Bucky finally asked.

"Nope. That's all gone. I can run as far and hard as I want now." Steve smiled as he said this, thinking of the early morning runs he'd recently taken a liking to. "Do you like to run? I remember you did in high school."

"Yeah, I love running." Bucky said, then decided to elaborate on the whole story, "I did go through a few years where I really hated running, because I hadn't had any surgery or anything, so I had to wear a binder, which restricted my movements and breathing and stuff. I didn't like to take it off in public, so I didn't like running. But then I managed to save enough to get top surgery, and so I got back into working out again." Steve liked to listen to Bucky talk. His voice was even prettier now that it had been lowered by testosterone. It sometimes sounded like melted chocolate, smooth and rich, but other times it was gravelly, like coffee grounds. "So, I've never seen you in the coffeeshop before. What brought you here today?" Bucky asked, which, for some odd reason made Steve blush and look down at the table.

"That's a little hard to explain." He replied,

"Well, I'm all ears, so now's your chance." Bucky said,

"Okay. So, shockingly, it actually maybe kinda has to do with you, just a little bit, I think?" Bucky raised his eyebrows at this but said nothing, so Steve continued, "You see, I have this friend who frequents a bunch of different coffee places around town and likes to people-watch quite a bit. Don't ask me why, she's a bit of a complicated person. Anyway, a couple of days ago, she told me that, to quote her, I needed to 'get my ass over to this coffee shop because there was someone there I'd want to see'. She didn't tell me who or why, just that I had to go. Like I said, she's a bit of a complicated person. But it's totally like her to see someone I used to go to school with and force me to go meet with them. I mean, like," Steve was rambling sheepishly, trying not to come off as crazy or anything like that, "Knowing her she probably read your story in that book or something and like, I mean, she's just good at connecting dots, you know?" He finally stopped talking and looked anywhere but at Bucky, cringing at everything he'd said. He probably sounded like some stalker or something. Though, to be fair, Natasha had definitely done her share of stalking, so maybe there was some truth to his concerns.

When he finally looked up, prepared for the worst, ha saw Bucky smile, his eyes crinkling at the edges exactly like they used to when they were little kids.

"Whoever this friend of yours is, I'd love to meet her sometime. She sounds amazing." Bucky said, and the tension in Steve's shoulders relaxed.

"Well, here, I'll give you my number, then maybe you could meet her or something." Steve said, tearing off the corner of a blank page in his sketchbook and writing his phone number on it in his loopy handwriting. He handed it to Bucky. Bucky smiled as he took the sliver of paper. Was he reading too much into this?

"Hey, I should probably go now, but, see you around then?" Steve asked, knowing he was supposed to meet some friends for a movie soon.

"Yeah. See you around Steve." Bucky said, sad to have the conversation ending so soon. They both got up and walked across the coffee shop, sneaking glances at each other when the other wasn't looking. The door jingled as Bucky pulled it open for Steve.

"What a gentleman." Steve said, rolling his eyes at his reunited friend, teasing just like he used to. He grinned.

"You're still a punk, I see." Bucky said with a charming smile, stepping out into the crisp autumn air, the orange light from the sunset making Steve's blonde hair twice as gorgeous. They both laughed at this comment.

"You're still a jerk." Steve shot back, remembering how they'd call each other "punk" and "jerk" when they were young. They hesitated outside the coffee shop. Neither wanted to go just yet.

"Hang on, Buck." Steve said, already shortening his friend's name to one syllable as he had before with Bucky's birth name "Do you maybe wanna come to a movie night with some of my friends? I know they'll love to meet you, and plus you can meet the... interesting one I was talking about earlier." This made Bucky smile.

"Sure, I'd love to. Is it far from here? I don't have a car with me, I walk to work.

"Oh, it's a little ways away. Probably too far to walk. But you can ride with me. Are you okay with motorcycles?" Steve grinned.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avengers Movie Night with the wonderful addition of Bucky Barnes.

"Hey, Steve." He was greeted at the door by Nat, her black skinny jeans and loose band tank making her look like the rebellious badass she was, "Oh, who's this? You finally have a boyfriend, or what? Can I finally stop trying to set you up with people?" She was smirking slyly, and both Steve and Bucky were blushing fiercely.

"Jeez Nat, I bring a friend to movie night once and you just assume we're a couple!" Steve said defensively, stepping inside with Bucky following him. "No, we are not dating. This is my friend Bucky." Bucky decided that just then was not the best time to thank Steve for letting him ride on the back of his motorcycle. Steve decided that just then wasn't the best time to mention that Bucky and him had dated in high school. It was pretty useless, though, because Natasha was kind've a world class stalker when she wanted to be.

Steve and Nat lead the way into a large living room with the curtains drawn to block out the fading sunlight. There was a large flat screen tv hanging on the wall.

"Hey guys!" Nat yelled at the people in the room, "Steve brought a little boyfriend!"

"We're actually not dating." Steve casually told the group, as if this was something he had to say often. Bucky glanced over at Steve. "This is my friend Bucky. He's a friend from high school. Haven't seen him in years till I met him at a coffee shop this afternoon."

The people in the room smiled and waved, then went back to their conversations.

"Right." Natasha said with a knowing smile. She'd clearly done her research.

"Alright, Buck, that's Clint, Wanda, Vi, Sam and Tony. You've already met Nat. She's the one I told you about." He whispered the last part sideways at Bucky.

"I heard that!" Nat hollered over her shoulder at Steve without even looking away from her conversation with Clint.

"What about me, man! I'm sitting right here!" Someone yelled from next to Tony.

"Oh, that's right." Steve said, rather dismissively, "That's Rhodey. C'mon, let's go sit on the couch."

Bucky observed the group of friends to better get a handle on where he he sat. Besides: he enjoyed people-watching. They were quite friendly, if a bit loud. Bucky decided that he liked most of them at least. Clint was a little older, but not old old. He looked like a dad, but one of those cool dads who every kid revered. He had his hair gelled to a small point in the front, but other than that had a rather plain look: a faded gray t-shirt and black pants. He had a nice smile, though, and a nice laugh. He and Natasha were obviously close, and Bucky wondered if they were a couple.

"I see where you're looking. He's married and she likes to lone it. They've just been through a lot together." Steve informed Bucky. It was strange how easily Steve slid back into Bucky's life. It was as if they'd never left for college years ago. They were acting exactly the same as they had from the time they were eleven until they were eighteen, as if nothing had happened. It was honestly really nice. The only difference here was that there were more people and Bucky no longer had to protect Steve from bullies.

Bucky glanced over at Wanda and Vi. Those two were very definitely a couple. Vi was holding Wanda in her arms, playing with her long brown hair, Dyed red at the ends. Wanda was wearing a red leather jacket over a little black dress and black combat boots. Vi, with her arms wrapped around Wanda, had a really short Buzz cut, dyed bright red, presumably to match her girlfriend's hair. Vi was wearing red combat boots, black skinny jeans, a blue skin-tight shirt with long sleeves, a big gold statement necklace, and red glovelets. Despite the rebellious styles both were wearing, they also both had looks in their eyes of such innocence, as if new to the evils of the world. Bucky decided that they were honestly the most adorable couple he'd ever seen.

Tony was an interesting character. Everything out of his mouth was either snarky or sassy. It was clearly evident that this was his house. Correction: his mansion. It was huge. He was wearing a plain white shirt under an unzipped black hoodie with jeans, extreme casual, although it was evident that he'd be just as comfortable in a suit. He had that sort of vibe about him. Rhodey was harder to read, but basically seemed like Tony's best friend, not much else Bucky could gather. Maybe a bit more of a rule-follower than the rest, judging by his more conventional clothing styles, but nothing concrete to go off of with him.

Sam sat on the other side of Steve. The two were obviously close. It was obvious that Sam was Steve's new best friend. He had a military vibe about him, so Bucky guessed that was where Steve had met him, but perhaps he was wrong about that one. You never did know. Sam kept glancing between Bucky and Steve, somewhat suspicious, but mostly just trying to get a handle on what was going on. Steve was extremely polite, and people loved him, but since when did he just find random people from his past and bring them to movie night? He wasn't sure what was going on, but he definitely noticed Steve's blush. Steve didn't ever blush, so he kind've had an idea of the situation at hand.

Bucky was glad that Steve had found such a great group of people, but felt sort of out of place, especially with Tony and Sam. But, it was okay, because Steve was there, keeping things going, introducing people, pointing out shared interests. Nat automatically took a liking to Bucky, sitting on the other side of him on the now-crowded couch. She made lots of conversation with Bucky, and it was evident to him that she knew more than she was letting on to. He didn't mind though, because she was nice and funny, especially when she was teasing the others.

* * *

By the time they actually started the movie, Bucky had grown comfortable with Nat and Wanda, though Vi was extremely protective of her. They were watching some superhero movie involving a guy who took patriotism just a bit far, something Bucky wasn't particularly interested in, but he liked the atmosphere of the room. The sound was pumped up high (obviously Tony's doing) and it was so dark that you couldn't sense the person sitting next to you at all, just the movie screen. However, Bucky couldn't help but notice Steve's warmth coming from the left of him.

Casually, as if it meant nothing, Bucky put his arm around Steve's shoulders. Nobody else noticed, because it was so dark, but Steve couldn't control his breathing. Bucky had put his arm around his shoulders. Could it be possible that the feelings they'd had for each other in high school were still there? They'd been close since they were small, ten or eleven. It wasn't until high school, though, that they started to develope feelings for each other. It didn't take long for them to start dating. Then college came, and that had been then end of a beautiful thing, or so they thought.

But now, Bucky's arm was around Steve, and it felt even more right than it had when they were young. Somehow, Bucky being transgender didn't change anything, and both men were relieved by that. Steve had kind've always seen Bucky as, well, he didn't really know what. He never had really seen him as one of the girls though, and, right now, this? This felt right. Bucky's arm around Steve's, the two men, in the darkness of the room. It just felt right.

* * *

"Hey, Steve!" Nat hollered out the door as Steve and Bucky left, "I expect to see both you and your boyfriend soon!"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Steve called back, but his voice lacked conviction, and he was smiling. Bucky was blushing.

They got on Steve's motorcycle, Bucky holding Steve's waist to stay on, and Steve drove Bucky home. The wind blew Bucky's hair out of its bun, and it flew behind him as they rode under the stars. The bright night, the crisp wind, the warmth radiating off of both men as Bucky held Steve's waist. It was freeing.

"Thanks, Steve. Tonight was great." Bucky said as he unlocked his apartment door.

"Sure thing, Buck, thanks for coming. I had a really nice time. See you soon?" He asked, hopeful.

"See you soon." Bucky agreed, "G'night Steve." He leaned in for a hug, unsure at first, but Steve spread his arms wide and they embraced. Steve felt the thin flatness, the lack of anything there but shoulders and chest. It was one of the things he liked most about guys, how their shoulders arch forward when they hug and there's nothing as far forward as them. Whatever those surgeons did must have been a miracle. Bucky was beautiful.

"Goodnight, Bucky." He said, squeezing Bucky quickly before stepping back and turning around to hide his blush. He was hopeless.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iced tea for two. :)

"Fancy seein' you here," Bucky looked up to see Steve walking into the coffee shop with a charming smile on his face.

"Hey Steve!" Bucky said, suddenly as giddy as a schoolboy, "How you been?"

"Pretty fabulous, yourself?" He said, strolling up to the counter.

"I've been doing pretty good, pretty good. So, coffee?" He suddenly remembered that he was working,

"Oh, well, really I've got no clue. Surprise me." Steve said,

"Okay, will do. You cool with teas? Today just seems like a good day for some iced tea in my opinion, I don't know."

"I'm alright with anything. Iced tea sounds good." Steve said, making Bucky smile a charming smile. Steve was really only here to see Bucky, and they both knew it.

"Well then, that's two mango iced teas. Exotic." Bucky said, grinning as he drew out the syllables in the word 'exotic'.

"Hang on, two?" Steve asked, raising his eyebrows. Bucky practically died.

"Well, I've got a break in seven minutes, so I just assumed you'd buy me a drink." He said, glad his manager wasn't out here, or he'd get yelled at. Steve was technically a customer, after all.

"Okay, I suppose that's fair." Steve pulled out his wallet,

"Good then. That'll be six dollars and forty-seven cents." Bucky smiled while Steve fished a ten out of his wallet. As he took the bill, both men let their fingers brush, lingering momentarily before Bucky finished the transaction, handing Steve the receipt as well as his change. "I'll see you in, like, six minutes. Kay?"

"Alright, see you soon, Buck." Steve took both iced teas and went to sit down in a small booth.

* * *

"See? I wasn't long at all. Here I am. Now hand me my iced tea." Bucky said, sliding into the seat across from Steve. Once again, they let their fingers brush unnecessarily as Steve passed the cup to Bucky. Bucky wasn't sure if Steve was doing this intentionally, but he for one sure as hell was.

"So, how's your day been?" Steve asked, thinking of his day. He'd gone running, did some painting, had lunch with Nat and Tony, then spent most of the afternoon reading, waiting for the late afternoon so he could come to the coffee shop to see Bucky. He was absolutely crazy.

"Oh, pretty decent. Been a bit of a quiet day around here." Bucky gestured to the coffee shop around them, with only about four people in it, all sitting quietly and sipping their drinks. "But, that's not all that bad a thing. Easy day for me." He stuck his thumb at his chest. Steve smiled. Steve liked how Bucky looked in his blue polka-dotted button down, top three buttons open and sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

"So, I was kinda wondering if you were free on Saturday?" Steve asked, glancing up at Bucky hopefully. Was he asking Bucky on a date? Bucky wasn't entirely sure.

"Oh, um. Saturday I was actually gonna go to the pride festival that's going on in town this weekend. If you want, though, I can, like, leave early or go on Sunday or something?" Bucky looked at Steve, hoping that whatever Steve had in mind can still work out. Desperately hoping. Steve chuckled a little bit, looking at the table for a few moments before looking back up at Bucky's brown eyes.

"It's funny, 'cause I was gonna invite you to come to that with me." Steve's lips were playing at a smile, but it was hesitant. "You at all interested in that?" Bucky broke into a confused grin. WAS STEVE ASKING HIM ON A DATE OR WHAT?!

"Oh, yeah, I'd love to go with you. I didn't have any friends who were going this year, so, actually, that works out great for me," Bucky said, taking a sip of his tea. Damn, he had no idea whether or not this was a date. He'd definitely say yes to a date if it was. Across the table, Steve smiled.

"Sweet. So, I'll pick you up at your place at eleven, and we can have lunch and then spend the afternoon celebrating our pride. Good?" Steve asked, figuring out the details of this occasion.

"Yeah, that sounds great. Are you gonna go all out in pride gear?" Bucky asked, thinking of the last time he was at a pride event. He'd worn nothing but black boxers and rainbow suspenders to match his group of friends, and he'd had a trans pride flag wrapped around his shoulders like a cape. He'd felt high on happiness the whole time.

"Maybe. You'll just have to wait and see." Steve said, smiling mischievously across the table, "Oh, and also, we might run into a couple people from the movie night there, since they're almost all LGBT and we're all in this, like, activist group that's gonna have a little tent set up. But probably we won't see them too much." Steve knew he had a tendency to ramble on, so he stopped talking.

"Alright, sounds great. They seem really cool, so it'll be nice to see them again." Bucky said, finishing his iced tea and glancing at the clock on the wall, "Oh, crap. I've got to get back to work now. See you in a couple days then?" He asked.

"Definitely." Steve replied, grinning as they parted ways. Saturday was going to be amazing.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Bucky go to a pride festival!

Steve glanced at himself in the mirror once more. He wasn't so sure about this now that he'd done it, but there wasn't time to put anything else on now, so he just grabbed his keys and left his apartment for Bucky's. He had to wear his brown leather jacket in order to feel safe on his motorcycle, but it was okay. Hopefully the material wouldn't ruin what he'd done as his pride gear.

* * *

Bucky was just tying his trans flag around his neck like a cape when there was a knock on his door. He grinned, thinking he knew who it was. When he opened his door, he had no idea what to say. Standing before him was Steve, shirtless, his whole chest painted like a rainbow flag. And Bucky had thought he'd been creative with his outfit. On the other side of the threshold, Steve was also staring, seemingly as surprised to see Bucky shirtless. He couldn't help but look at the six inch scars under Bucky's pecs and think that his chest was so beautiful. Also his abs. His abs were very beautiful as well.

Bucky was wearing rainbow sunglasses, knee-high rainbow socks in his sneakers, along with knee-length pastel blue shorts to match his trans pride flag. Also, rainbow suspenders, because they had looked so fabulous at the pride event last year, that he couldn't not wear them again this year. Steve had put on jean short shorts, completely unlike anything he'd ever worn before and somewhat terrifying to tell you the truth. As well as the shorts, he had painted a giant rainbow flag on his chest and had bold rainbow cuffs on his wrists. They looked very fucking proud walking out of Bucky's apartment building.

"So, where we gonna have lunch?" Bucky asked as they walked down the sidewalk, a couple blocks from the pride festival.

"Oh, there's this great sandwich shop. It's like, legitimately the only place in the whole city that'll let you in without a shirt on. Or so Tony claims. We'll see about that." Steve responded easily. They walked about half a block more, and then turned and opened the door to Ozzy's Sandwich shop. There were a bunch of other lgbt individuals decked in pride (some decked in practically nothing) also eating at the sandwich shop when they walked in.

* * *

"Alright. Ready to go out into the fray, then?" Steve asked, a questioning grin on his face as they finished their sandwiches. Bucky smiled and they got up, walking excitedly out of the restaurant, the jingle of the door sounding behind them. They could see the pride festival going on a block from where they stood. There were white tents put up, and people in rainbow clothes had flooded the streets and sidewalks surrounding them. They could hear Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" pumping out of speakers from somewhere within the crowd of people. Steve and Bucky turned to each other and grinned, wildly excited.

"This is gonna be amazing." Steve said. He glanced sideways at Bucky, then reached out and grabbed his friend's hand. Bucky was surprised by this, looking down at their clasped hands, but he didn't take his away. Neither did.

It was like a rainbow explosion had hit the streets. The crowd shifted and people flung their arms in the air to the thumping beat of the loud music. Everyone had rainbow clothing on, gay couples were kissing in front of cellphone cameras, and Bucky and Steve were right in the middle of it. Part of it. The music pounded from speakers, and people's voices filled the air. The crowd jostled them, and the only thing tethering one to the other was their clasped hands. It was such a crazy, fun, wild atmosphere, adrenaline had instantly started pumping through their veins the moment they had seen it. They were not afraid in that moment. Bucky and Steve turned to each other and locked eyes, the crowd fading to a rainbow blur around them

Bucky placed his hand on the back of Steve's neck, pulling him to him. There was no fear. Only loud music and gay pride. He tilted his head to the side and kissed Steve. It was just like it had been in high school, but also so wildly different. Bucky's lips were the same, but the stubble on his face was new. Steve's head was the same, but he was almost twice as large as he'd been, now making Bucky tilt his head up to kiss. So much had changed, but they were still the same people. At this point, there was no denying that they were absolutely smitten with each other. Any fool in the whole damn crowd could've seen that. When they backed their lips off each other, they were both blushing furiously. They'd just kissed in front of a thousand people.

"So, then, you wanna be my boyfriend again?" Bucky asked with a pink-faced grin,

"Hell to the yes." Steve said, taking Bucky's hand in his once more, and they walked along through the giant rainbow party.

"Steve! I see you brought your little boyfriend along with you!" Nat called from her perch on a tall stool under their tent, "Good to see you Bucky." She continued. She was wearing a tanktop in the pattern of a flag that Bucky recognized, but didn't know what it was.

"Hey, Nat. Good to see you, too. What's the flag on your shirt?" He pointed.

"Oh, that's the asexual flag. Gotta represent!" She screamed, pumping her fist against her chest.

"Cool!" Bucky said, way too excited for his own good.

"So, you two finally started dating again yet, or what?" Nat asked. Steve looked at her facial expression and deduced that she already knew all about their kiss.

"Maybe we are, stalker!" Steve poked fun at his friend, though, she really was a stalker.

"In my defense, it really wasn't that hard to discover. Look what someone just posted with the event's hashtag," She showed them her phone, which was showing an instagram selfie at the pride festival that included Steve and Bucky kissing in the background. Natasha looked smug. Steve and Bucky just looked embarrassed, but they were still happy and excited.

"Yeah, okay, so that did happen. And we are dating again now. But, still, you're a total stalker." Steve said, once again grasping Bucky's hand in his.

"Can't deny it." Nat said, grinning mischievously. Just then, Tony came walking up, wearing an outrageous glittery rainbow suit, complete with a matching rainbow tie and sunglasses.

"Wow, Tony. Going all out there, aren't you?" Nat asked him, looking him skeptically up and down,

"Hey, you shut your trap. I am representing the lgbt community today. I figured I'd wear a little rainbow, show my pride. You know, that kind of stuff." Tony grinned.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call that 'a little' rainbow, but at least you're showing pride, Mr. Pancake." Steve said, grinning down at Tony. Tony was most definitely off his rocker crazy.

"Um, yes, I am a pancake. Panny-panny-pancake. Pansexual. Making out with pans all day long." Tony said, talking with his arms waving about him to emphasize the joke.

"Hey." Rhodey looked stern as he walked up behind Tony, "Some people actually think that's what pansexual is. Don't make that joke, it'll confuse people."

"Oh, lighten up, Rhodes!" Tony complained, "And take off that damn pin, it makes you look stupid." He pointed bluntly at the large button on Rhodey's chest that said "I may be straight, but I am not close-minded!"

"Oh, I don't know, Stark," Nat jumped in, "I kinda like it. It makes him look a little more laid back."

"Yeah, but that's the issue. It's misleading: he's not laid back." Tony pointed out. Then they all broke into laughter, Steve and Bucky joining them.

"Where're Wanda and Vi?" Steve asked Nat, knowing she'd have the answer.

"Wanda said she wanted food, but I have the vague suspicion they're off in some corner making out." She said. They really were such a cute couple though.

"It's kinda funny, the two of them. They are, like the most innocent people in existence, basically small children, and yet they sneak off to make out." Tony said, shaking his head, pretending to be disappointed in them, "Anyway, I'm gonna go find me some food. Anybody want something from Ozzy's? Rogers? Rogers' boyfriend? Nat? Anybody?"

"I want some," Rhodey said, and the two of them walked out of the tent, swallowed up by the crowd.

"So, what's you guys' tent for?" Bucky asked, legitimately curious as to why Steve's friends have a tent at the pride festival. Hadn't Steve mentioned something about an activist group...?

"Oh, Stevie not tell you about the group? We're kind've like an activist group sort of thing, I guess you'd call it. We've got a website and stuff. Completely Stark-funded, of course, Mr. Made-of-Money over there. You should be a part of it, Bucky! I read your story in that one book a couple of years ago, and I think our group could benefit from having you on board. Of course, you'd have to run it by our unofficial leader. but I have this feeling he'll be okay with it. Here, take this." She handed Bucky a flyer for their group.

"Who's your 'unofficial leader'?" Bucky asked, "Is it Tony?" At this, Nat laughed.

"No. It's your little boyfriend over there." She teased them. She liked to tease her friends, and it was quite entertaining watching their faces grow more and more red, "Whaddya say, Steve? Let your boyfriend be a part of us, hmm?"

"Oh, yeah, of course. If you want to, Bucky." He said, always one for manners. Nat rolled her eyes,

"Oh course he wants to, Steve. What reason does he have not to?" She said, and it was then settled. Bucky was going to join their group. Nat wouldn't take no for an answer, and, frankly, both Steve and Bucky were excited.

"Hey guys. How's it going?" Wanda asked, her Eastern European accent coming through strong as she and Vi stepped into the tent. They were holding hands, and looked very lgbt proud. Wanda, being the more racy in style of the two, had on a red leather corset, rainbow skinny jeans and black leather boots. Vi had on a casual white collared shirt underneath a black t-shirt with a flag on it that Bucky did recognize: the genderqueer flag. Vi was also wearing jeans and a button that said "them they theirs" on it, displaying their pronouns.

"Hey, Wanda, Vi. Oh, hey, I didn't know you were genderqueer!" Bucky said as they greeted each other,

"Oh, yes, I am." Vi said in their english accent, such a contrast to Wanda's. Bucky smiled. Vi smiled back.

"Hey, you two, guess who's a couple now?" Nat stuck her thumb towards Bucky and Steve.

"Are you just gonna tell everyone who walks up here?" Steve asked, feeling smothered, but not unhappy. "Why, yes, I am." Nat stated in the vague direction of Steve, then, to prove her point, she smiled at some random teenager who'd come into the tent to check out their group, "Hey, my name's Nat. See those two over there? They just started dating not thirty minutes ago." The person she was talking to smiled, took a flyer, then walked over to Bucky.

"Excuse me, I see your scars, um, are you ftm?" The kid asked in a timid voice.

"Yeah, I am. My name's Bucky. And you are?" He extended his hand, and the kid shook it.

"I'm Cameron. I'm fifteen. I'm ftm as well. It's just... really cool to meet so many supportive people here. I never could've come out or started transitioning without things like this." He said, glancing around happily. Another boy came up to Cameron, took his hand, and they walked out of the tent together. Steve and Bucky looked at each other, taking each others' hands again.

"Man," Steve said, "He's got it all figured out, and only fifteen."

"The world's a beautiful place, made more so by the second." Bucky said softly, almost as if to himself. They smiled at each other, then Steve kissed Bucky on the cheek.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve takes Bucky on a date, their first since high school. To Bucky, it's like a dream come true.

Steve heard a knock on his door. His face lit up, cheeks flushing at just the thought of who it would be. He leapt up from the couch, sending his sketchbook flying onto the cushion next to him. He opened the door before Bucky could finish knocking. But, it was only the post officer, there to deliver a package to Steve's door. He sighed, utterly disappointed, taking the packages and closing the door with only a small "Thanks." He checked his clock again. There was still about four minutes until Bucky was set to arrive. He went back to his drawing.

There was another knock at the door, and Steve practically leapt out of his skin. He glanced at the clock, seeing that it was 8:09 at night. He had completely lost track of time. He closed his sketchbook and went to get the door. When he opened it, there stood Bucky, hands clasped behind his back, clean-shaven face smiling excitedly.

"You're late," Steve said, though his smile betrayed his teasing.

"Yeah, but at least I brought you flowers, right?" Bucky smirked a little as he pulled the small bouquet from behind his back. He handed them to the blushing Steve, who took them and then smelled them. They smelled really nice.

"Here, let me put these in, like, a vase before we go out. You can come in while I do that, it'll only take a second." He said, already stepping back into his apartment to find a vase. "You still not gonna tell me where you're taking me?" He asked as he filled the glass vase with water from the sink.

"Nope. But I promise you'll like it." Bucky said, smiling slyly.

"You know," Steve said, placing the flowers in the vase and setting it on the table, "I'm not sure whether to call this our first date or our eightieth."

"You were keeping track?" Bucky smiled, taking Steve's hand in his and striding towards the door of the apartment.

"Maybe just a little." Steve admitted, squeezing Bucky's hand in his as they walked out of the building to Bucky's car. It was an older car, maybe from the forties, kept in great condition by the likes of Bucky. Steve knew nothing of cars, but he did like to draw old ones like this. Maybe he could make a painting of Bucky's car sometime. Maybe he could make a painting of Bucky sometime. He kept this thought to himself.

"You're steed, good sir." Bucky said, opening the passenger side door for Steve with a flourish,

"Why thank you." Steve said, smiling as he played along with the joking conversation. Bucky got in on the other side, putting on his aviators and turning the ignition. As they drove away from the apartment building, both men's' hair blew around in the wind. "So, now are you gonna tell me where we're going?" Steve asked, having to speak up over the wind.

"I'm taking you dancing!" Bucky shouted back, grinning. Steve was a terrible dancer, and they both knew it. Bucky had tried countless times to teach him, but he never could get the knack.

"Really?!" Steve choked on his laughter.

"Hey, who knows? Maybe with your new physique you can finally dance with at least a little bit of gracefullness to you. But, if not, at least this time I'll be leading!" Bucky referred to how horrible it had been every time Steve had tried to take the lead when dancing back in high school. It really had been pretty bad.

"Where can you even go to dance around here?" Steve asked.

"Oh, you see," Bucky began, "There's this park near here that's got a dance and dinner thing going on tonight. It's not exactly formal, it's in a tent, but it'll be nice, I think." Bucky glanced over at Steve, relieved to see him smiling. Bucky was glad that he'd planned the date right. He really wanted this to go well.

* * *

"Hi, can I get a table for two?" Bucky asked at the entrance to a large white tent in a small park in the middle of the city.

"You're in luck: we've got one left." The guy said with a smile, eyeing the two men's interlaced hands, "Right this way." Steve knew people were looking at them, but he was kind've used to it. That was just the way it was, and he knew it could be a lot worse. It would've been a lot worse ten years prior. It still wasn't always safe to walk down the street. It could be a lot worse than judgmental stares, they both felt lucky. Bucky squeezed Steve's hand for a second as they followed the waiter. Tonight was their night, and nobody could take it away from them.

They were seated at a table near the corner of the crowded tent. There was music playing, and a clear dancefloor had been set up in the center of the tent. There was a buffet against one wall filled with food. They took their jackets off and placed them on their chairs, smiling at each other.

"Shall we get some food, then?" Steve asked, gesturing towards the buffet.

"Yeah, let's do that." Bucky said, and they strolled over to the buffet line to get dinner.

* * *

The music was loud and slow and the dance floor was crowded, but Steve could see Bucky looking over at it with an obvious feeling of longing.

"I take it you want to dance, then?" Steve said, eyebrows raised.

"How'd you know?" Bucky looked up at Steve, playing innocent. He knew that he'd been staring at other couples dancing off and on for the past ten minutes.

"Well, you weren't exactly being subtle. But, if you wanna dance, then we'll dance. Just, don't blame me when I step on your feet." Steve was more than a little nervous about dancing, since he was notoriously bad at it, but he'd do it for Bucky. So they stood up and moved their way through the mess of tables and onto the dance floor.

"Ready?" Bucky asked, placing a gentle hand on Steve's waist.

"Always." Steve said, putting his hand on Bucky's arm and letting Bucky guide him into a slow dance.

"See?" Bucky spoke to Steve as they moved to the music, "You're not so bad."

"I guess maybe you're right." Steve admitted, focusing on the soft, warm feel of Bucky's hand on his hip and the loving look in Bucky's eyes as they moved together. The whole world was melting into oblivion. They were definitely going to crash into someone or something if they didn't start paying attention soon, but for just a single moment, it was just them in their own little world.

Steve rested his head against Bucky's head, being the taller of the two men swaying back and forth while their feet moved beneath them. Steve's head was warm on Bucky's forehead, and they melted against each other. The music surrounded them as they filled each other with warmth and affection. People spun by them, but they hadn't a care in the world. They were together, two men wrapped around one another, dancing. That was all that mattered.

Steve pulled his head off Bucky's chest and they locked eyes for a millisecond before tilting their heads and leaning forward to kiss. It was a magical moment, which both Bucky and Steve cherished as they pulled back and continued dancing. But, afterward, they could feel eyes from around the room locked on them. It was no longer just the two of them dancing together: there was a whole tent full of people there also. Though they weren't the only couple kissing, but their's got a different reaction from people around the room. They both sensed this and looked at each other.

"You wanna go somewhere else after this song is over" Bucky asked Steve, "It's getting a bit late anyway."

"Sure." Steve said, tracing his thumb along Bucky's left arm, "You got anywhere in mind?"

"Well, we could just go for a little walk, see where it leads us. The night is still young." He spoke as the song ended and they walked back to their table to grab their jackets.

* * *

"That was really a lot of fun. You take dancing lessons or something? You weren't half bad tonight." Bucky said, swinging Steve's arm back and forth as they walked down the sidewalk under the stars.

"Oh yeah?" Steve grinned, "Think I should try for a dance competition or something?"

"Naw, they'd never let you in. You're too much of a punk for classy things like that." Bucky informed Steve, trying to hide his smirk,

"Jerk." Steve said, gently shoving Bucky.

"Wow. I'm hurt." Bucky whined, wrapping an arm around Steve's waist. The cool nighttime air felt renewing against his skin. The street was quiet except for the occasional late-night driver. It was just the two of them and the man on the moon. They walked past a children's playground.

"Remember how, when we were kids, we'd see who could swing the highest?" Bucky asked all of a sudden, stopping to look at the swing set.

"Yeah, and you'd always win." Steve recalled.

"I wonder who'd win now..." Bucky trailed off, then began to pull Steve over to the two swings that were swaying in the midnight breeze. Steve laughed, clear and free.

"Are we seriously doing this?" He asked, sitting down on a swing and starting to pump his legs.

"You'd better believe it!" Bucky said, already starting to swing higher. Steve was determined not to lose this time around. He shifted his whole body every time the swing went back or forth until he was slightly higher than Bucky.

"Yes! I finally won!" Steve said as they both let their swings slow down to nothing. They sat in their swings, gently rocking back and forth, looking at each other.

"Oh, god, Steve. I love you. I really do." Bucky said, fondness taking over his whole being.

"You know I love you too, Buck." Steve said, taking Bucky's hand in his and standing up from the swing. Bucky stood up as well, wrapping one hand around the back of Steve's neck. Bucky pulled Steve into a kiss, splendid in the moonlight. It was dazzling, leaving both in shock for a good twenty seconds afterward, just staring at each other in amazement as they held close.

"You're wonderful." Steve whispered.

"You know you're wonderful, too." Bucky whispered back. Everything hung still as they held onto each other under the stars. To Bucky, it felt like he was dreaming, and nothing could ever wake him from this perfect dream. He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the preciousness of the moment, fading into the feeling, just for a second.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After every dream, you must wake up. Sometimes the world you wake to is frightening. Bucky awakens to find his life has been turned into something out of a nightmare.

Bucky began to wake up and regain his senses. There were aggravated beeping noises in Bucky's right ear, a chemical disinfectant smell hanging around him. His eyes were closed, and he was not entirely sure where he was. He could just barely make out Steve's voice somewhere to his left saying "Is he gonna be alright?" He blinked his eyes open, squinting in the angry fluorescent lights. He hurt all over.

"What happened..." He mumbled to know one in particular. Was he in a... hospital? Steve turned immediately and, seeing Bucky's eyes open, he rushed over to the side of Bucky's bed in under a second.

"Bucky!" He said, breathless, the area surrounding his eyes a deep blackish purple color. There was a healing cut on his cheek. From what? His eyes were beet red. He looked dreadful.

"Steve..." Bucky said, so tired. "Steve, what happened?" He asked. Why was he lying in a hospital bed? The last he could remember he'd been kissing Steve in a park at night. This was a far cry from that.

"Bucky. Oh my god, you're okay. I was so worried." Steve was pushing Bucky's hair back out of his face, full of emotion. Bucky had no idea what was going on.

"Really, Steve, what happened? Why are we in a hospital?" Bucky was disoriented, the cot beneath him stiff as a rock. It hurt to move, to talk, but he needed to know what was going on.

"Don't you remember?" Steve asked, blinking back tears. Bucky shook his head, ever so slightly. "Oh, Buck..." Steve tried to say what had happened. It was hard for him to form the words. "We were... we were in a park. Uh, and, we, uh... well, we were attacked." Steve winced at the words. They sounded bad. They were bad. It had been bad. Four men yelling slurs in the dead of night. "You- you got pushed into the street, then hit by a car. I-" Steve stopped for a minute, a single tear breaking past his fortress, "I couldn't get to you in time."

"Steve..." Bucky said, trying to reach out to comfort him. But he couldn't reach Steve. He couldn't reach out his arm. He had no arm. He had no arm. WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS ARM? Steve saw Bucky's eyes widen at the realization. There wasn't even a stub on his shoulder. It was just... gone. "Steve...?" Bucky sounded scared. Steve knew Bucky well, and he knew that Bucky was barely containing his terror. He was beginning to lose it. He looked like a wounded puppy, and Steve couldn't stand it. Bucky shouldn't have that look in his eyes. It felt wrong to Steve that this could have happened. He'd let it happen.

"Hey, hey. Bucky. Look at me: you're awake now. You're alive. I was worried you wouldn't be. I'm right here. I promise, swear on everything I have, that you're gonna be alright. Okay?" Steve tried to reassure his boyfriend. He stroked Bucky's forehead with his thumb.

"Steve. My arm is not there." It was clear in Bucky's voice that he did not think everything was going to be alright in the slightest.

"You got run over by a truck, Bucky. I'm just glad you're alive right now." Steve said, cradling Bucky's head with his hand. "I love you. You know that, right?" Bucky nodded. They both had tears running down their faces as the doctors suddenly swarmed the room. Neither had any idea what was going to happen next. Both were more terrified than they'd ever been before.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our two heroes begin to pick up the pieces of their lives after such a horrific event.

"Steve. You should go home. Get some sleep. This is seriously unhealthy." Bucky said as he fiddled with the corner of his hospital blanket.

"Bucky, I just don't want to leave you here. I can't." Steve said, his voice betraying his exhaustion.

"Steve, please, just get one night of sleep. They're gonna let me out soon, I've heard the nurses talking. And then you can stay over at my place or something, I don't know. But, right now: go home and sleep. Please. You need it." It was true. Steve's eyes had gathered dark bags underneath them, his clothes were wrinkled and smelly. His bloodshot eyes sometimes grew a vacant look to them as he stared off into space, which concerned Bucky. Still, he didn't leave Bucky's bedside for more than half an hour. He refused to go every time the nurses tried to kick him out. He would not leave.

"Bucky, really, I'm not gonna leave. I just won't. Can't. I can't leave you right now." Steve's eyes sparkled with love, but his face was gaunt and haunted. He felt responsible for the fact that Bucky was in a hospital bed. What good was he if he couldn't even protect his boyfriend?

"Steve. Stevie. Please, just go get some sleep. You're worrying me. I'm doing fine. Look at me: all my tests are coming back good, I could walk around the hospital if the nurses would let me, I'm eating normal meals, I'm even writing! I'm doing fine. They're gonna let me out soon. It's okay to go home and sleep, Steve." Bucky was pleading at this point. Steve knew it. "C'mon, Steve. Just go home for a little bit. At the very least go and take a nap."

"I'm not leaving, Bucky. What if something happens? I'm not leaving. I don't even need to sleep right now; I'm not even tired." Steve said, though his eyelids were drooping. Bucky got out of his hospital bed (he was sure the nurses would kill him for that, but he didn't care) and went to sit in the chair beside Steve, wrapping his right arm around Steve's waist. Steve tipped his head onto Bucky's shoulder, and in five minutes he was out cold.

A nurse walked in. It was Nurse Jamie, Bucky's favorite nurse. Despite how cool she was, Bucky was still sure she was going to chew him out for getting out of bed. All of the nurses had been decidedly against that idea for the time being. She looked at him, seemingly about to scold him.

"Shhhh..." Bucky said, glancing at Steve, whose flawless porcelain-doll face was still resting peacefully against Bucky's right shoulder. "He's sleeping." Nurse Jamie just shook her said, laughing quietly.

"What am I gonna do with you two?" She said finally, then smiled a brilliant smile, "Well, I was just coming in to say that you're allowed to get out of bed and walk around now, if you want, but I see you made that decision yourself. You're gonna be able to leave this afternoon, we think."

"Well, that's a relief, nurse Jamie. I've been a bit worried about this one here." He nodded his head at the sleeping Steve. "He puts on a good tough-guy act, but he needs his beauty rest. When I finally get out of here, I'm gonna make sure he lies on his bed and sleeps for a full night." Nurse Jamie smiled, noting how cute of a couple they were. Then she bit her lip, as if she was about to say something. "What?" Bucky asked, noticing this.

"Oh, it's just... well, I mean. I read what you were writing while you were stuck in here. On the blog for that, like, social justice group. Anyway, I just- I wanted to thank you. It's very brave to continue on after something like this, and, well, it just means a lot to my wife and I that there are groups like you guys out there." Wife. Bucky had had a feeling. He smiled.

"I write about things that I care about. If the world needs it, all the better. I'm glad we're making a difference. Really, if that's all I accomplish with my life, it'll be a life fulfilled." Bucky replied, resting his head on top of Steve's. Jamie smiled, and Bucky smiled back, a shared understanding of certain hardships between them. She left Steve and Bucky in the room alone once again. Bucky held Steve close, remembering how he used to wrap himself around Steve when Steve had been the small scrawny kid in high school. How much everything had grown up since then.

* * *

"Hey, Stevie. Wake up, Steve." Bucky said, nudging Steve with his shoulder, "Hey, sleeping beauty. Guess what? They're finally setting me free."

"Hmmm?" Steve asked, rubbing his eyes as he sat up, his hair sticking up in odd directions from where it had rested against Bucky's shoulder.

"Gonna have to be a bit more specific there, Steve. I don't speak 'hmmm'." Bucky said, attempting to gather together with his single arm the cards and flowers that had accumulated next to his hospital bed. Steve came over and scooped the items out of Bucky's grasp easily. "Oh, come on, I can at least carry some of it!" Bucky complained.

"Yes, Mr. 'They're-Finally-Releasing-Me-From-The-Hospital' I think I'd better carry these." Steve said resolutely. But Bucky was stubborn. He didn't like to feel useless in any way.

"C'mon, Steve! At least let me carry that little teddy bear?" He gave Steve the puppy dog eyes, and Steve gave in with a sigh, handing Bucky the small stuffed bear. Bucky hugged it to his chest as they walked out of the hospital.

"Well then, I think I want to go for a walk when we get home." Bucky said as they drove to Bucky's apartment. Steve raised his eyebrows incredulously. Some combination of Bucky saying "when we get home" and the fact that Bucky wanted to go for a walk left him at a complete loss for words. "Sound good?" Bucky asked Steve.

"I was thinking more along the lines of a nap. Or maybe like some microwavable dinner." Steve responded.

"Oh, c'mon! You just took, like, a three hour long nap on my shoulder. We can have microwavable crap after we take a walk. Deal?" Bucky asked, grinning. Steve was amazed at how positive Bucky was being right now, despite not having a left arm. It probably had something to do with finally having freedom after being cooped up in a hospital room for a few weeks.

"Okay, fine. But it's gonna be a short walk." Steve relented.

* * *

Both Steve and Bucky were still healing, so they took it slow and short, just walking to the coffee shop where Bucky worked and back. They didn't go in. Just smiled remembering their chance encounter there before turning around. As they continued walking down the street and conversing with each other, Steve put his right arm around Bucky's shoulders, shielding Bucky's lack of left arm from people's stares. Bucky noticed this, and it made him feel good, protected, despite the fear that everything in his life now possessed.

"Steve, I think we both really need to shave." He said matter-of-factly. Steve raised his eyebrows and looked over at Bucky.

"That's what you're thinking about right now, huh? Shaving?" Steve asked.

"Well, yeah. We look like hobos, and I can't have that. It's unacceptable." Bucky stated with mock concern.

"Yeah, well, we haven't really had much opportunity to shave recently, now have we?" Steve asked, squeezing Bucky's shoulders. They finished their walk like that: Steve having his arm wrapped around Bucky's shoulders and Bucky acting like nothing was wrong even though he still hurt all over and was missing his left arm.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> LGBT+ Avenging.

“There he is. The man of the hour!” Natasha said without moving from her catlike perch on the couch in Tony’s living room. Bucky walked into the room with a red t-shirt on, the left sleeve hanging loose and empty. He still wasn’t used to not having his left arm. Sometimes it felt like it was still there, and he’d try to use it, only to remember that it was gone.

“Oh, man! He’s back from the dead!” Sam said, supportive even though Bucky was not his favorite person in the universe. There are just certain situations where one has to be supportive no matter who the person is. This was one of those situations.

“Barnes: they let you out of the hospital four days ago. How come we haven’t seen you ‘til now? Huh?” Tony asked, walking into the room, patting Bucky gently on the back as he passed. Bucky was quiet, and smiled slightly at everyone as he sat on the couch to the left of Nat, Steve sitting on his other side. Almost everybody politely avoided looking at Bucky’s left shoulder, where nothing came out of his shirt sleeve, but Tony looked directly at it, pondering. “Hey, Barnes, you know what kind’ve prosthetic they’re gonna hook you up with? ‘Cause I bet you anything that I can make something that is both more functional, and cooler.” Tony said, cocky and confident. He was kind’ve a technical genius, just like his dad. He owned an extremely successful technology company, not that anyone within this group cared all that much. To them he was just the snarky little guy who made everybody laugh all the time. Bucky smiled.

“You’ll probably have to talk to my doctors about that or something.” Bucky said, though he liked the idea, since Tony’s tech was undeniably amazing.

“Oh, don’t worry. I can handle that. I’m what you call a ‘person of influence’ pretty much everywhere I go.” Tony said. Basically everyone rolled their eyes, though it was true. Just then, Wanda and Vi came through the door, shaking the rain off themselves.

“Sorry we’re late.” Vi called from the front entry, “Traffic was bad because of the rain.” They strolled into the living room, then caught sight of Bucky.

“Ohmygod, Bucky, you’re here! How are you?” Wanda came rushing forward towards Bucky. Out of all of them besides Steve, Wanda and Nat had been the most worried. Both of them had just clicked with Bucky, and cared about him a whole lot already.

“Well, you know, I’m doing better than I was.” Bucky said softly. Wanda looked him up and down, deciding that, yes, he was on the mend.

“Seriously, Bucky, you were not looking good the last time I saw you. I’m glad to see you’re on your way back to health.” Wanda cared about everyone. She had such a good heart. Everyone knew it, too. Vi came over and wrapped their arm around her. Bucky smiled kindly, and Wanda smiled back. She and Vi went to sit on the loveseat.

“So,” Vi started, “What are we doing tonight?” Tonight was not a movie night. Tonight they were getting together to get some work done.

“Well, I was actually thinking we could do, like, an interview of all of us about the recent events that have been plaguing our minds.” Nat said, referring to when Steve and Bucky had been attacked in the park. “I know we’ve already written some stuff, but a short little video on the topic could get the word out for people so things like this never happen again. Sound good everyone?”

“Yes.” Was the immediate response from all corners of the room. They immediately started working, Tony setting up cameras and everyone else preparing things to say or questions to ask others. They would go one at a time, then edit the video so that everybody could share a little bit.

“Alright, we are ready to roll. Who’s going first?” Tony asked. Clint volunteered. “Alright Clint, sit on that stool there right in front of the green screen. You say anything you want to say, and then we’re gonna ask you some questions. Ready?” Clint nodded, “Alright, three, two, one: go.”

“The first thing I heard was that Bucky was in the hospital, and my immediate thought was ‘What happened?’ Well, then I learned that Steve and Bucky had been victims of a hate crime. It- it just made my blood boil, you know? Bucky and Steve are great men, great people, great friends, they didn’t deserve this. Nobody deserves to be attacked like this. Nobody. Nobody should have to live in fear for any reason. I don’t want my kids to grow up in a world so riddled with hatred and intolerance that people are attacked in the streets for being who they are and loving who they love, it’s just- something needs to be done so that things like this never happen again.” Clint finished what was basically a revolution speech. The others were fairly impressed, but they had questions they wanted to ask him.

“Okay, so, Clint: do you think there could be any good reason for someone to do something like this?” Natasha asked and Clint answered:

“No. There is not any reason to attack someone who was doing nothing to you. There will never be a good reason to do that. What kind of a question was that?” Clint, generally the calm and kind one, was fiery and angry in that moment. Sometimes he was kind’ve hard and sharp-edged, but it took a lot for him to get actually angry or heated. As they were filming him: he was filled with heat to a somewhat frightening extent.

The others weren’t very different. Rhodey spoke calmly but firmly about honor and following the laws and stuff, as was expected from him. He was generally the rule-follower to balance out Tony’s crazy. Tony asked a lot of rhetorical questions to the camera when he was filmed. Often when answering questions he’d just return a new question. Natasha was cold and powerful, as she often was when talking about serious topics. She knew where she stood and was willing to fight for it with her whole being, but the emotion she displayed while doing so was eerily calm. She could be terrifying given the right circumstances. Sam talked about how nobody had any right to lay a finger on anyone else simply because of who they are or who they love. He just kept repeating that with more and more force until he finally just got up from the stool and walked out of the shot.

They filmed Wanda and Vi together, since they were basically inseparable anyway. They talked about how scary it had been, how bad Bucky and Steve had looked after they were attacked. Wanda broke down crying in the middle of it and Vi had to comfort her. They were asked what it felt like, as an LGBT+ couple, to know that there were people out there that would attack people just for being gay or transgender.

“It’s terrifying. We either have to live in fear as we walk down the street or we have to hide our relationship. We don’t want to do that. When you’re in love, you just want to shout it from the rooftops. But, you never know what might happen when you’re an LGBT couple and you’re walking down the street. It’s scary.” Wanda said, her accent shaping her words in a beautiful way.

“I feel like I want to protect her, as much as I possibly can,” Vi began, “She’s so kind, and loving, and sweet. She just cares about everybody and everything, and all I ever want to do is to protect her. It’s terrifying knowing that she could get hurt just for being in a relationship with me. I never want to see her hurt. This is something that gay people, transgender people, and LGBT+ people of all kinds just have to deal with, every second of every day.” They had their arm wrapped around Wanda protectively as the two of them answered the questions. Neither seemed to even be aware of that, it was just natural.

They filmed Bucky and Steve last. Bucky’s missing arm made their point painfully clear before they even spoke a word.

“We were in a park, at night.” Bucky began, “We were the only ones there, the whole night was quiet, warm, the stars were out. It was essentially the perfect night to be out with your darling. We had told each other that we loved each other, and I think it was the first time we’ve said that to each other, so it was really special. We had kissed. We were doing some pretty typical things that every couple might wind up doing. But we were quiet, we weren’t disturbing anyone. We were just lost in how romantic the night was. That’s as far as I can remember. I can’t remember the attack, or anything beyond the wonder of being with Steve.” Bucky finished, his voice growing rough and gravelly, breaking as he stated that he couldn’t remember the attack. Steve wrapped his arm protectively around Bucky’s shoulders, holding him tight, for fear that he might lose him.

“After that, someone yelled the f slur at us from the side of the street.” Steve continued, “We both looked up in time to see four guys, all with fairly athletic builds, getting out of a car. They kept yelling at us, telling us to stop, calling us slurs, swearing at us. Neither of us yelled anything back, we just stood there. I think I still had my arms wrapped around Bucky while this was happening. Then they started coming towards us. Think about four large men coming towards us in the darkness of night, yelling absolutely wretched stuff at us. It just struck a terror deep within me.

“I believe that I moved in front of Bucky, but I’m not entirely sure. I just know that one of the guys threw a punch my way, and he struck me right here, on my jaw,” Steve pointed to the right side of his jaw, where a nasty bruise could still be seen. “At least one of the guys had a knife. I’m kind’ve blurry on some parts of it, but I got knocked onto the grass and pinned there. I saw some of the guys hitting Bucky, I remember seeing just, like, a glint of metal in the moonlight and hearing Bucky scream. It was- oh it was horrifying. I really tried to get up, because I couldn’t stand seeing Bucky being hurt like that, but I couldn’t get up for all I tried.

“The guys who were attacking Bucky just kept going after him. It was relentless. Terrifying. He tried to fight them off, but two or three of them going after him, and they had at least one knife. They kept moving forward and he kept taking these stumbling backwards steps, barely staying on his feet. They backed him up until he reached the curb, and tripped on it, falling into the street. They just kept going after him, he tried to crawl backwards, but just wound up lying on his back in the middle of the road while they kept on attacking him. It was so hard for me to watch this happen. I-” Steve started crying at he was telling the story, “I’m sorry Bucky. I tried to get up. I tried to get to you. I didn’t want to let any of this happen. I couldn’t get to you in time, I wasn’t strong enough. I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry Bucky.” As Steve broke down, Bucky turned towards Steve and wrapped his single arm around him. He held him as tightly as was physically possible, murmuring that it was okay while Steve’s body shook with tears. Once Steve had composed himself enough to speak, he finished the tale:

“Bucky got hit by a truck. I couldn’t stop it from happening. The four cowards ran then, and the guy who was driving the truck called nine one one. They loaded Bucky and me onto an ambulance. That’s what happened. Bucky’s arm had to be amputated, but it’s a miracle he’s still alive.” Bucky bit the inside of his mouth and closed his eyes to keep from crying. He hadn’t known all of these details until now. He definitely hadn’t known that Steve felt responsible for it, but that much was clear now.

The rest of the group was dead silent. Natasha had gone ghostly white, a single tear sliding down her perfectly still face. Wanda had covered her mouth with her hand in horror, as tears flew freely from her eyes. None of them had heard the full story until then either. It took them a good fifteen minutes before anyone was ready to ask questions. When they were done filming, they had a lot of material to edit. Despite it being late at night, Natasha and Tony began immediately, seemingly not able to stop until it was finished and out in the world. Everyone else went home. Steve stayed at Bucky’s place that night, as he’s done every night since Bucky had been released from the hospital. They fell asleep holding each other as tightly as possible.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arms.

"I really don't want to go." Bucky said as he and Steve were in the car going to his third physical therapy session.

"You've gotta go, Bucky. How about this: you go to physical therapy, and the afterward I buy you ice cream?" Steve bargained.

"Yeah, okay, fine." Bucky said, settling into his own resigned misery. At least he had a prosthetic now, though he didn't like it that much. Tony wasn't finished working on his specially designed one. Bucky had seen the designs, though, and it looked pretty cool. He couldn't wait until it was finished. Maybe then he could act like a regular human being again instead of some helpless little baby.

As they got out of the car and were walking into the physical therapy practice, Steve put his arm loosely around Bucky's shoulders, as he often did. Bucky didn't move his prosthetic arm around Steve's waist or anywhere. He didn't like the way it felt unnatural and cold. He couldn't feel anything through it, and he didn't like the way it felt when he touched it. It was like the people who made prosthetics didn't even try to make them resemble hands in the slightest. He hated it. Steve knew this, but wished bucky would put his arm around his waist anyway.

Bucky walked in the practice fully prepared to do countless arm exercises with his stupid fake arm. When he walked in, he glanced around for his physical therapist, and found her talking to none other than Tony Stark. Noticing Bucky and Steve, Tony waved.

"Hey, guys!" Tony yelled at them as they came over to where he stood, snacking on some dried cherries. "Hey, Bucko, guess what? I finished the arm I was making for you. I was just talking with the good doctor here to see if you can try it out right now. I think you're gonna like it. It's flashy, but it really resembles an actual arm in shape and functionality. Also, I made it look really buff and muscular, you know, so you look cool. You remember the designs I showed you, right?"

Instantly both Steve and Bucky broke into grins. Tony leaned over to pick up a somewhat large black case, placing it on a nearby chair. He unlatched the case, opening it to reveal and extremely shiny metal arm. It was very flashy, yet it looked almost natural. It was kind've mesmerizing. Within seconds Bucky was fiddling with the trashy prosthetic connected to his torso, taking it off.

Tony helped Bucky put on his new metal arm, which was a whole lot easier to put on than his last one had been. It was also more comfortable, and looked a lot nicer. Tony showed Bucky how to use it, since it actually moved to the commands he gave it in his mind, almost as well as his real arm once Tony got it working.

"There's no pinch points, and it functions as well as a normal arm. Actually, better, since it's stronger. It'll hold onto your shoulder really well, in fact, it will be nearly impossible to get it off your shoulder until you want it to. It does that the same way you move it, by the way, but you really shouldn't have too much of a need to take this one off, since it's practically a real arm. Also: it's waterproof, kind've durable and tough, everything you'd need for daily life and more. If you wanted to go rock climbing in a snow storm, you could." Tony finished. Bucky moved it around. It still felt unnatural, and he still wished for his real arm back, but this new prosthetic was unbelievably wonderful. It responded to what he wanted it to do just the same as his flesh right arm, and he had no idea how Tony had managed to do that. Tony was a genuine genius.

"Thank you Tony, it's amazing." Bucky said, opening and closing his fist.

"No problem, Robocop." Tony said, and he strutted out the door without another word.

"That Tony Stark sure is an interest character." Bucky's physical therapist said.

"That he is." Steve responded, looking at Bucky with his new metal arm. It may have just been Steve being Steve, but he found Bucky super attractive with this particular prosthetic.

* * *

They were watching television. Bucky, sitting on Steve's right on the couch, never moved his new prosthetic hand once during an hour of watching tv. Though he really liked it, and it was definitely a lot better than the old one he had, he missed having an actual arm there. He missed feeling things on his arm: feeling Steve's warmth as Bucky's arm was around his waist, feeling soft grass, or wet mud, or even dog poop. He just wanted to feel something. So, while they were watching tv, he let it sit still by his side, trying not to let it bump Steve too much, because he just couldn't feel anything. He despised the lack of feeling.

Steve noticed that Bucky wasn't moving his prosthetic. He noticed that whenever Bucky noticed it was touching Steve, he'd change position so that it wouldn't. But Steve loved Bucky. He cared about him. He wanted Bucky to know that it was okay that he had a metal arm, that they could still be normal with it. He paused the tv. Bucky looked over at him questioningly. Steve reached his hand towards the line where skin becomes metal on his boyfriend's shoulder.

"May I?" Steve asked before he made contact with it. Bucky nodded slowly, but his metal hand balled into a fist while he did that. Steve touched the line where the metal began, tracing his finger along it, then going down and tracing his fingers down the shiny silver colored plates running down the metal arm. Feeling each ridge and bump individually, Steve made his way down Bucky's arm until he saw at the edge of Bucky's closed fist. Steve picked up Bucky's hand.

Bucky watched, dead-eyes, as Steve opened the rigid joints of Bucky's metal hand with his warm flesh ones. He brought Bucky's hand up and kissed the tip of Bucky's pinky finger. Then he went on to kiss the tips of all Bucky's other fingers in order, including the thumb.

"Can you feel that?" Steve asked, still holding Bucky's hand near his face.

"No." Bucky said, so flatly, dispassionately, dead of all emotion that Steve almost let go of his hand and gave up. But then Bucky added: "That doesn't mean you should stop." and so Steve went back across Bucky's fingertips in the other direction. Next he closed Bucky's fingers gently around his and kissed each of Bucky's knuckles, before wrapping his hand around Bucky's and placing them, clasped, onto the couch and turning the television back on. They held hands for the rest of the night.

* * *

"Hey, Tony?" Steve asked over the phone the next morning after he and Bucky had finished breakfast.

"What is it, Rogers, you woke me up." Tony complained. It was ten fifteen in the morning.

"I was wondering if it was okay to paint the metal arm?" Steve asked,

"Oh, yeah, that should be fine. Is that what you woke me up for?" Tony asked.

"Maybe?" Steve said apologetically. Tony hung up. Steve walked back into The small living room area where Bucky sat on the couch reading a book, looking completely natural with his metal arm. Natural and beautiful. "Hey, Bucky?" Steve said. Bucky looked up from his book cheerfully.

"Yeah, Steve?" He asked,

"Well, I had an idea." he started, making Bucky's eyebrows raise ever so slightly, "I was wondering if you maybe would like it if I painted something on your new prosthetic." Bucky smiled.

"You know I'd love that, Stevie. What did you have in mind?" Bucky asked, closing his book on its bookmark and putting it down.

"Well, I probably will go with something small and bold. Like a single symbol. A heart would probably look a bit silly, but what about a star?" he asked, brainstorming out loud. Bucky smiled a precious grin.

"A star sounds great, Steve. How about red?" Bucky asked. Steve pulled out a paintbrush and some red paint and got to work.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Overnight, the internet has discovered the video created by Nat and Tony. Everywhere Steve and Bucky look on social media, they find #endhatecrimes as well as #standwithstucky. Thus they also discover the ship name the internet has come up with for them. Thankfully they don't think to check fanfiction sites, am I right?

The next morning at six thirty, Steve received a text from Natasha.

"Hey, Bucky! Wake up!" He whispered excitedly in Bucky's ear. Bucky was not awake enough to form words, just managing to get out a disgruntled "Mmmvfgh!" at being woken up so early. Steve shook Bucky's good shoulder until Bucky opened his eyes.

"What is it?" Bucky mumbled sleepily before yawning. His long hair was flung about his head every which way, and Steve thought it was cute. He smiled.

"You know how we did that video thing, like, two-ish weeks ago?" Steve asked, practically bouncing up and down.

"Yeah. What about it?" Bucky asked, wondering what Steve was so excited about.

"Well, let's just say it gained some traction." Steve said, still bouncing in his excitement.

"...And...?" Bucky asked.

"Well, that's just the thing isn't it? Since it just suddenly got really popular online, there's just a bunch of stuff now. Like, Tony wants to do a follow-up video, and like interview other lgbt people who don't even know us. And people all over social media, are, like, posting their support for us and anyone else who's been through anything similar. There's essentially a mini movement about hate crimes now. Some different news agencies in the area want to interview us, too. Bucky, you have no idea how many people are speaking out support for you." So that's why Steve was excited.

"Alright. So what do we have to do?" Bucky asked, sitting up. His hair stayed sprawled in exactly the same way it had been while he was lying down.

"We're gonna meet at Tony's for lunch and get down to work. Right now, though, let's make pancakes." Steve said, smiling and walking out into the kitchen. By the time Bucky finally came out of the bathroom, his hair put into a tiny man bun and a tank top on his chest, Steve had already poured the first batch of pancakes onto the griddle.

"Don't hit the ceiling." Bucky warned jokingly as he opened a high cabinet to get a coffee mug. He was referring to a time when Bucky and Steve were very little, and Bucky had just learned how to make pancakes, and was really excited about showing Steve how to flip them. Steve had wound up flipping one onto the ceiling. Bucky had teased him about it for years after that. Steve rolled his eyes at Bucky, then casually flipped all the pancakes with no issue whatsoever.

Bucky poured himself a cup of coffee, using both arms casually for the first time in weeks. Steve noticed and smiled, but said nothing, flopping all of the pancakes onto a plate.

"Here, these six are for you." Steve said, nodding toward the plate full of golden brown pancakes as he started pouring batter for six more. Bucky held his coffee mug with his metal hand and picked up the plate with his flesh one. His metal hand worked just as well. As he sat down at the small table, he pulled out his phone and turned it on. He tried to use his thumb print, and realized, for the eightieth time, that he could not use his left thumb on his phone. Sighing, he used his right hand to type in his passcode.

What Steve had said was true: the two of them were all over the internet, and a lot of people were showing support. There were two hashtags circulating around: #endhatecrimes and #standwithstucky

"The hell is Stucky?" Bucky asked quietly, mostly to himself.

"Oh, yeah, the internet has created a 'ship name' for us. They smashed together our names and that's our relationship title." Steve said, sitting down across from Bucky with his own plate of pancakes.

"Yeah, but isn't that mostly done for fictional characters?" Bucky asked, putting his phone down on the table and looking up at Steve.

"Well, mostly, yeah, but there are actually quite a few for real people, and apparently now we're one of them." Steve said, his face stuffed full of pancakes. Despite everyone thinking he was such a gentleman, he really wasn't.

"Dude, check this out: celebrities are doing it too. Like- Oh, dude! Chris Evans posted about it. And he's, like, so cool!" Bucky said, back on his phone again.

"Yeah, and beautiful. He is movie star quality." Steve said contemplatively.

"Well, he is a movie star, Stevie. And actually, you look kind've like him now that you're not a scrawny little kid anymore." Bucky said, and Steve knew it to be a compliment.

"Maybe I should grow a beard, like he has. I could go around pretending to be him." Steve said, making Bucky laugh at the idea of his boyfriend becoming a Chris Evans impersonator. He had to admit, though: Steve did look just like Chris Evans. But he shouldn't grow a beard. That would be confusing. Bucky shook his head, still laughing.

"No, I like you clean-shaven. Makes you look sophisticated." Bucky said, barely understandable through his over-full pancake mouth. The picture of sophistication. Steve chuckled, his eyes twinkling in that way that Bucky liked. Bucky went back to scrolling through social media on his phone. Rainbow flags were essentially everywhere associated with those two hashtags. He and Steve had become a sensation. He just liked that awareness was spreading to stop hate crimes. It was really a beautiful thing.

* * *

"You guys!" Natasha screamed as she opened the door for them. Steve just didn't tend to need the key he had been given. "C'mon, c'mon! We have so much to do." She was grinning from ear to ear, quite excited. She grabbed them both by the wrist (Bucky by his right wrist) and dragged them, smiling, into the living room, where Tony had already set up lights, cameras, a green screen, everything he'd need to do more filming. There were a few people in the room that Steve had never seen before, but one man he did recognize.

"Excuse me," Steve addressed the man, "You were the one driving the truck, right? Who called nine one one?" The man nodded. "I just wanted to thank you for calling nine one one when you did. It probably saved our lives." Steve extended his hand and the man shook it.

"I couldn't see myself just driving away after what happened. I think anyone would have called in a heartbeat, I just so happened to be there." The guy said.

"Well, thank you anyway, sir. What's your name, by the way?" Steve asked.

"I'm Tom." The guy said, smiling before Tony came over and started yabbing in the guy's ear. Oh, Tony.

"Alright, everyone!" Natasha called, clapping her hands once to silence the chatter in the room. "We're gonna first put Steve and Bucky over here and roll the cameras, and anyone who wants to interview them can at that time ask them a few questions. Then anyone else who is going to be interviewed will sit in front of the cameras and be interviewed. Pretty straightforward, so, let's get to it." She could really be commanding when she wanted to. She kind've pushed Bucky and Steve into the lights and cameras. They blinked as they sat, then seemed to gather themselves.

"Ready?" Tony asked them. Steve gave him a thumbs up. Then people (reporters, Steve assumed) began to ask them questions. It was basically like a press conference in Tony's living room. Tony was used to it in a way that made Steve feel like he did this often. With Tony's lifestyle though, he probably did.

"What was going through your minds when you saw the men approaching you?" Someone asked.

"I just suddenly felt a need to protect Bucky, and I like, stood in front of him. All that was going through my mind was that I wanted to protect him." Steve said, wrapping his arm around Bucky's shoulders.

"What about you?" The reporter asked Bucky.

"I don't remember any of it." He said, "I remember being in the park with Steve, and then I remember waking up in the hospital."

"What about your arm? I see since the first video that was posted you've gotten a pretty nice prosthetic. Where did you get that? How does it feel?" Bucky was asked.

"This arm was custom made by Tony Stark. I don't know. I really love it, especially compared to the first prosthetic I got, but I just really miss feeling things in my arm. I can move it and do normal things just as well as I could with a flesh arm, but I can't feel anything. I miss that." Bucky said, holding his metal arm up and moving it around so people could see it.

"What about that red star on it? There a story behind that?" The reporter continued.

"Um, yeah, there is, actually. Steve painted it on yesterday morning for me. Red is my favorite color, and we just kind've wanted to do something to make my arm mine, you know? Something kind've simple and nice. I think he did a pretty good job." Bucky said, making Steve blush. He was kind've embarrassed that the cameras caught him blushing, but mostly just happy that Bucky liked what he'd done.

"So, if you could say anything to the people who attacked you, and anyone who shares their viewpoint or thinks what they did is right, what would you say?" A new reporter asked them.

"Well, that's really hard to answer, actually." Steve began, "I don't like bullies. I don't care who the are or where they're from. I have a history with bullies and I don't like them. Nobody should think it's alright to gang up on people for any reason. But, still, I believe that if I don't have anything nice to say that I shouldn't say anything at all. So I'm on the fence as to whether I should speak my mind or not. I'd probably just ask them why they did it, why they think it's alright to hurt someone as sweet and wonderful as Bucky. Because I just don't get that. I feel like probably all this hate mostly just stems from a lack of understanding." Steve said, looking over at Bucky.

"Well, I also have a bit of a history with bullies. Mostly mine was dealing with Steve's bullies during childhood, though since he wasn't always this physically well off. So, I know what I'd say to the men who attacked us: it would be the same thing I told to all of the bullies who picked on Steve in elementary, middle and high school. I'd tell them to go pick on somebody their own size, instead of picking on people they could easily overpower. It's not an okay thing to do, ever, to anybody." Bucky said. He looked straight at the camera while saying this.

"Okay, and what would you say to anyone else who's been attacked or bullied because of their gender or sexuality?" The same reporter asked.

"I would just make sure they know that, despite everything, there are a lot of people who believe in them, that the world is getting better every day. You are valid, and it is going to get better. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not even in a few years, but I swear to you: it will get better someday. Never stop believing in that." Steve rattled off this answer immediately, leaving Bucky kind've just staring at him.

"Yeah, what he said." Bucky stated blandly. "I don't think anyone could've said it better, so, I'm just gonna go along with that." The reporters kept asking the two questions. There were about ten of them, and it seemed that they had enough questions to go on forever. Eventually Tony took pity on Steve and Bucky and told everyone that they were done being interviewed, so they stood up and walked over to sit on the couch as other people got interviewed.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky and Steve go to dinner with the rest of the team, where they discover a surprise opportunity.

"Can't we just order some pizza tonight or something?" Bucky complained as Steve put on his jacket.

"No way, José. We've had pizza two nights in a row. We're going out." Steve was definite. Final. Fixed, certain, assigned, decided, established, determined, guaranteed, set, sure. There was no way Bucky was staying in for the third night in a row and he just had to accept it. Bucky sighed.

"Fine. Where are we going?" He was hoping it would be just a quick dinner then back in the house again. Bucky didn't like all of the attention he was suddenly receiving, especially the unwanted attention such as hate and anger. Strongly worded emails. Preachers telling him he was going to Hell. People sitting at the next table over saying "his lifestyle" was disgusting. That one lady at Starbucks who refused to serve him. So, he didn't like to go out much. Steve, on the other hand, would have none of that.

Steve's view was that the haters would always hate. Steve noted the importance of what they were doing, and Bucky had to admit that, yes, it was important. Though he didn't enjoy being in the spotlight or any of the hate mail, some of it was good. They were making a difference in the world. They got kind emails, too. Emails of thanks and hope. Emails wishing them a happy life together. Drawings in the mail. Bucky's favorite was one of him and Steve, with his metal arm, holding up peace signs and a rainbow flag while hugging each other. It had been sent to them with a note saying that it was from two little girls in upstate New York. They had both been harassed at school, one for being transgender, the other for having a prosthetic leg, and both for dating each other. They had said that Bucky and Steve gave them hope. Receiving that in the mail had made Bucky's day when they got it.

"We're going to meet the rest of The Avengers and some other people at that one restaurant, what's-it-called. You know!" Steve said, grinning cheerfully.

"No, Steve, I really don't know." Bucky said dryly, though he was struggling not to smile. Though he really didn't want to go out, Steve had such a contagious smile.

"Oh, it's that one steakhouse we went to that one time? On the East side of town? I can't remember the name right now." Steve said, taking Bucky's hand and pulling him out his apartment door.

"Oh, yeah, I know the one you're talking about. The Avengers working tonight, or just hanging out?" Bucky asked. That was one thing about all the people in your social justice group also being friends: you could be working or hanging out at any gathering. The Avengers were no different.

"Pretty sure we're just hanging out, but who really knows other than Tony and Nat?" Steve said, smirking.

"Um, usually you do. You know: 'cause you're, like, the leader." Bucky responded, slightly suspicious of what was going on.

"Yeah, but, you know, not really. Not always, anyway. Nat was the one who organized this, so, I guess we'll find out, now won't we?"

"I guess we will." Bucky responded, his voice ragged as he looped his arm through Steve's and stepped outside the apartment building.

 

* * *

"Hey! Here they are!" Tony exclaimed from a crowded table as Steve and Bucky stepped into the noisy restaurant. Steve smiled radiantly and waved, and Bucky's lips twitched up at the sight of The Avengers, smiling, laughing, drinking around a table. They went over and sat down with them. The table sparkled with conversation. Voices rang out with laughter, glasses twinkled, silverware clanged as Tony and Clint had a mock sword fight. It was great. Tony started it, of course.

"Honestly, it's like I work with children." Nat rolled her eyes at the two of them.

"Oh, come on, Nat! You don't mean that!" Clint complained, putting his fork back down on the table. She smiled at him,

"Actually, I mean every word of it. You two are children." She said, her voice ice cold but teasing.

"Oh, wow. I'm hurt. I truly am." Tony said, placing his butter knife across his chest in mock grief. Nat laughed, taking a sip of her water.

"We children, too, Nat?" Steve asked her, with his eyebrows raised, a corner of his mouth turned up in a half smile, his arm around Bucky.

"Is that even a question?" Nat asked.

"Yes...?" Steve asked.

"Well, maybe you're not quite as childish as those two monkeys," Nat pointed at Clint and Tony, who made offended faces, "But you can be pretty childish. I'm being honest here."

"Yeah, we're so childish!" Steve said, scrunching up his face while Bucky stuck his tongue out. They all laughed.

"Yes," Vi agreed, "Definitely children." Everyone smiled. Steve and Bucky smiled at each other. Steve reached out and grabbed Bucky's hand under the table. It was his metal one. Bucky noticed and held Steve's hand gingerly, knowing that he could do some serious damage with that thing if he wasn't careful. All Steve felt was tenderness. He held Bucky's hand and all there was was a gentle kindness. Compassion. Fond, soft hearted love. He could see it in Bucky's doe-like brown eyes. For the first time in what seemed like forever, the people and the noise vanished and it was just Bucky's rich chocolate eyes. Without thinking, Steve leaned forward and kissed Bucky. Bucky hesitated a moment, his shoulder tensing slightly, before he relaxed and kissed Steve back. They leaned back and looked in each others eyes.

"Oh my god, I love you Steve." Bucky said, his voice breaking, barely audible.

"Bucky..." Steve trailed off, just losing himself in Bucky's voice.

"Hey, Romeos!" Natasha snapped her fingers in between their faces, breaking the trance, "As absolutely adorable as you two are, there's a couple people I'd like you to meet." Bucky was blushing, but Steve only smirked. He didn't really mind being caught in their public display of affection.

"Yeah?" Steve smiled.

"Yeah." Natasha responded. "This is Alex and Cassandra," She gestured to two girls who had walked up next to their table, one with short red hair and one with long blonde hair. "They're from Massena, New York. They've been doing some really great things, and I contacted them to see if they could meet us tonight."

"A pleasure to meet you ladies." Steve said, shaking their hands one at a time. Bucky saw a glint of light and glanced down to see that Alex's left leg was a prosthetic.

"Hey, wait a minute." Bucky said as he got up to shake their hands as well, "Did you two mail something to me, by any chance?"

"Yeah, we did. We sent you guys a drawing. Did you like it?" The redhead asked them, her excitement bursting through, "I didn't really draw it, I just colored it. Alex is the real artist here." The redhead bubbled happily, placing her arm proudly around Alex's neck as she complimented her, making Alex blush.

"Cassandra!" Alex pleaded, feeling smothered.

"Well, I for one loved your drawing, it totally made our day, right Bucky?" Steve said. "Would you like to sit down? We've got some open seats right next to us, actually." He gestured towards two chairs to the right of Steve and Bucky. The girls sat, clearly excited.

"So, why don't you tell the gentlemen what you two have been up to?" Nat asked the girls with an excited grin. Whatever it was, Nat liked it.

"Oh, yeah." Cassandra said, "I almost forgot. So, we, like, got inspired by your story, and started with thing. It's kind've a website, I guess. Basically it's to educate people on LGBT issues and stuff. We, like, taught our whole high school about a ton of this stuff. Our school put it up on their website, and a bunch of other schools nearby want us to come to them as well. We've been communicating with a bunch of people, and our school and our parents have started to make arrangements for us to go around the state a little bit and tell people about this stuff. And we were kind've wondering if you guys would like to help us? I mean, the message would get across to a lot of people better if you were there, too. I've been checking out a ton of the stuff The Avengers do, like your news articles and your videos and your posters and stuff? I don't know, I just kind've felt like we could do a ton more if you guys helped us." Cassandra said all of this so quickly, he hand tapping restlessly on the table. Alex placed her's on top of it to calm Cassandra down. Bucky smiled at them.

"I'd love to help you two out with this. It sounds like a really wonderful thing for you to be doing." Steve said, "I have to say, though, I'm really impressed. As a high schooler, I never could have done anything like this."

"I can attest to that." Bucky interjected, smiling. "We'd love to work with you two on this. I think that it'll really make a difference on the world. By the way, what kind of topics do you usually discuss?"

"Oh, usually it's got to do with what LGBT is, how LGBT youth are affected, you know, by, like, bullying or discrimination at school, mistreatment at home. Kind've stuff like that. We have, like, slides and stuff. Wait, are you really gonna work with us?" Alex spoke hopefully, the longest sentence she'd said so far.

"Yeah, I think that'd be a great thing." Bucky smiled gently at Alex.

"Oh, sweet!" Alex exclaimed, surprising Steve with the amount of energy behind the words, "So, is it alright if we get your emails and phone numbers? We need to coordinate this with our parents and our principal and the other schools and stuff." Now that she was excited, Alex was almost as talkative as Cassandra.

"Yeah, sure. Hey, does anybody have a pen? Thanks." Steve said as Tony handed him a pen. "This is gonna be great."


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Bucky reminisce about their past together.

"You alright there, Bucky?" Steve asked, looking up at his boyfriend from his seat on the couch.

 

"Yeah. Just really sore, it'll go away eventually. Just took my T shot." He responded.

"Oh. Yeah, from what I've heard those are really painful. You want anything? Like something to drink, or ice or something?" Steve asked, placing his sketchbook on the drawing table.

"No, I'm alright. I just, like, can't really sit down right now. I need to walk around a bit." Bucky responded. He began walking slowly around the room with choppy steps. They were in Bucky's apartment, where Steve had been staying for awhile now. He just didn't like to have to leave Bucky alone, and they'd started to talk about officially moving in together.

"It's probably a good thing you don't have a fear of needles." Steve commented. Bucky laughed, which made his butt hurt even more.

"Yeah, that's true. But if I had a fear of needles, I would have gone with the gel. Either way though, it's totally worth it." He smiled, and Steve just loved how genuine it was. "You know how you didn't figure out you were gay until college?" Bucky asked Steve.

"Yeah. And?" Steve asked, raising his eyebrows and tilting his head curiously at his boyfriend.

"Well, I've got this theory about that. I think, like, maybe me presenting as female and, like, not realizing I was a guy, is what made you think you were straight in high school. Like, maybe it was confusing you almost as it was confusing me. You know?"

"Shit, Bucky! That's a weird theory." Steve spluttered, getting up from the couch and looking at Bucky incredulously.

"What?!" Bucky defended, "It could be true! Just think about it!"

"I think you're crazy, that's what." Steve said, walking over to Bucky and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Oh, Steve. Who knows? Maybe I am crazy. It wouldn't be too shocking." Bucky said, his gravelly voice cracking slightly. Damn testosterone anyway. But, hey, at least his voice was lower. At least he had facial hair and all that jazz. All in all, it was worth it just to look in the mirror and see himself as he truly was.

"What are you thinking about?" Steve asked, noticing Bucky zoning out into his own world.

"Just, you know, testosterone. Surgery. Transitioning." Steve smiled: Bucky didn't think about his transition all the time, but whenever he did think about it, it always came with a wave of relief. Steve was relieved, too. Bucky was a beautiful man, and Steve could not have felt more in love. "So how about those girls, right? It's really great to see people so young making a difference on their worlds. Seriously, I never could have done anything close to that when I was in high school."

"Yeah, you could have. You definitely could have done it. Don't you remember how you used to beat up people who beat me up? You could have done it." Steve said.

"Well, I think you'd be more likely to have done something if you'd felt like it. You were always looking for a fight, ya little punk." Bucky said teasingly.

"Yeah, but I never would have made it out alive without dragging you in. So in the end it'd be you doing all the hard work. I'd never have admitted it, either." Steve reminisced,

"Now that is true." Bucky said with a smile, kissing Steve. Steve put his hand in Bucky's hair, completely ruining his man bun. Bucky felt Steve smile as they kissed. "Oh, god, I hate you." Bucky complained.

"No, you don't." Steve replied, pulling his face back with a grin.

"No, I don't. But I should." Bucky said, allowing Steve to wrap his arms around him in a warm hug.

* * *

You done packing?" Steve asked.

"Um..." Bucky responded, still stuffing things into a duffel bag with his metal arm.

"So that's a no, I take it." Steve said, walking back over to the door to stand waiting. He heard the sound of the zipper, presumably from Bucky's duffel bag. Soon after, Bucky came strolling out of the bedroom with his duffel bag slung casually over his shoulder. He really was a piece of art. "Ready?"

"Yeah." Bucky responded, following Steve out the door and locking it.

"So, you're driving." Steve told him, "Because I want to draw. Plus I'm tired."

"Yeah, that's really it. You just want to sleep while I do all the hard work."

"Yeah, pretty much. Sound good?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, fine." Bucky said.

"Wow, you gave up really fast." Steve commented. They both grinned, pushing the doors to the apartment building open, sunglasses on both of them. Nobody else probably even noticed them, but they felt really cool right then. Bucky closed the hatch of Steve's car, their bags within it. He went around and sat down, turning the key in the ignition.

Within three minutes of getting out of town Steve was fast asleep. Bucky glanced over at him every once in awhile. All the creases that were normally one his forehead when he was smiling, or thinking, or frowning: they were completely smoothed out. He looked like a doll: perfect. He had always looked sort've perfect when he was dreaming. Bucky remembered when they'd gone on a road trip during spring break of their senior year. The hadn't been able to afford a hotel, so they'd had to sleep in the car, and Steve had fallen asleep like a rag doll against Bucky's chest.

"Mmmm..." Steve mumbled in his sleep, shifting his head against the window. Bucky put his right hand on top of Steve's left one, enveloping it in his warmth. Nothing bad would happen to Steve wall Bucky was there. He'd always made sure of that, and he sure as hell was not gonna stop now.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers visit the first school with Alex and Cassandra. They each share their individual stories about being lgbtq+. Some are easier to hear than others.

“Rise and shine, sleeping beauty. We’re here.” Steve heard Bucky’s voice, but he was still mostly asleep, so just ignored it. Bucky sighed. Steve felt a warm hand place itself on his left shoulder, as well as a cold one on his right shoulder. Bucky shook Steve gently to wake him up. “C’mon, Steve. Wake up, we gotta get ready.” Steve blinked his eyes open, seeing only blurs of light before his eyes adjusted and he saw his boyfriend leaning over him, his hands on his shoulders. Bucky saw the corners of Steve’s lips turn up sleepily below him. “Morning Stevie. Get up now.” He pulled his hands off Steve’s shoulders and went to straighten up. But just before he did, he quickly leaned down and pecked Steve’s cheek.

Bucky went back to getting ready, standing before the hotel mirror and tying his bowtie. Steve just lay there for a couple seconds, watching Bucky hum gently as his hands worked on the tie, the metal of his left one flashing in the morning light. He looked like an angel. It had been, what? Four months, since they’d reunited completely by accident at the coffeeshop? A lot can happen in a short amount of time.

Flinging the covers off, Steve got up and walked to the bathroom. Bucky finished tying his bow tie, and looked at himself in the mirror: blue short sleeve collared shirt with tiny white dots, white bow tie, man bun, square jaw, flat chest. He looked like how he felt. Except for the metal arm. That would take some more getting used to. Maybe he’d never be used to it. Steve seemed to be more than fine with it, and was the sweetest, most supportive person Bucky had ever met. Perhaps, is Steve could handle him, he could handle himself.

“You’re not seriously wearing an AC/DC shirt to this thing, are you?” Bucky asked incredulously.

“What?” Steve asked, sliding next to Bucky to see the mirror so he could comb his hair.

“Punk.” Was all Bucky could think to say.

“Jerk.” Came Steve’s immediate response as he combed his hair with his left hand.

“Seriously though, Steve. That is so unprofessional. At least put a flannel on over it.” Bucky continued to criticise Steve’s faded band shirt.

“Fine, I’ll put a flannel on over it. But I’m not losing the shorts, I don’t care if they’re disreputable.” Steve ceded, dramatically putting a lightweight gray flannel over his black AC/DC t-shirt. Bucky just rolled his eyes.

“Hey, Steve, what do you think of this glovelet?” Bucky asked, a self-conscious vulnerability showing through within his earnest query as he held up his metal arm to reveal he had put on a black leather glovelet. He thought he looked more genuine with the glovelet on, not to mention the feel of leather compared to the feel of metal. It made him feel more human.

“You look badass, Bucky, and gorgeous as always.” Steve said, picking up his wallet and keys to put them in his pocket, as well as checking his phone. “Now c’mon, let’s go get breakfast. Nat says she’ll meet us at this diner.”

* * *

“Hey, Natasha.” Steve said, he and Bucky sliding into the booth seat across from their redheaded friend who was, in that moment, attempting to shovel scrambled eggs with ketchup into her mouth while simultaneously staring intently at her phone, her thumb scrolling.

“Hey, guys.” She said, not even looking up from her phone. “You ready for the thing?”

“You could say that.” Steve said, knowing he could fool anybody into thinking he was confident, rather than a little bundle of nerves. Nat glanced up at him from her phone, raising her eyebrows slightly before going back to the device. Okay, everybody but Natasha. Bucky looked up from the menu he’d been scanning to find his breakfast.

“Hey, Steve! They’ve got waffles with bananas and whipped cream on them!” Bucky said. Steve grinned excitedly in response.

“Let’s do it.” Steve agreed, clearly thinking of the same thing. Natasha turned her phone off and put it down on the table, looking between the two children seated in front of her.

“Did I miss something?” She asked. Steve and Bucky just grinned like the maniacs that they were. “Seriously, guys, what’s going on right now?” Natasha hated being out of the loop.

“One summer—what was it, just after 6th grade?—we spelt over at each other’s houses every night the whole summer, and for breakfast, every single morning, we would have waffles with bananas and whipped cream on them.” Steve said.

“Every morning? The whole summer?” Nat asked, to which the boys nodded, “You guys, that’s disgusting.”

“Funny, that’s just what you’re sister said!” Steve said to Bucky. They laughed. Natasha turned her phone back on. When they waitress came, Steve and Bucky got two orange juices and a order of banana waffles to share, and Natasha asked for a refill on her earl gray tea.

“So who all’s doing this thing?” Bucky asked Natasha.

“Well, the girls were mostly interested in you two helping them out, but me, Tony, Vi, Wanda, Clint, and Clint’s son.” Natasha said.

“Cooper?” Steve asked.

“Yeah.” Nat responded. “He goes the middle school in the same district as one of the schools we’re going to, and he really wanted to be a part of this when he heard about it. That little kid really puts himself out there, sometimes.” Nat said this fondly, but her eyebrows were creased. Everyone knew how much she cared about Clint’s family, and the idea of anything bad such as bullying happening to one of them worried her far more than she’d ever let on to. She loved that he wasn’t afraid or ashamed, but she worried about what the other kids might say to him. Everyone knew it, and, despite the fact that she’d never let anyone know how worried she was, they all thought it really added to her character.

Their food came just then. It was really just a large mountain of bananas and whipped cream on top of two large waffles.

“I really do work with children, don’t I?” Natasha asked, but she was smiling as she took a sip of her tea.

* * *

“Ohmygosh! I’m so glad you could make it!” they heard Cassandra’s voice as soon as they stepped through the doors to the front office. She and Alex were waiting there for them with Tony, Clint, Cooper, Wanda and Vi. Apparently they were the last ones to get there.

“You must be Mr. Rogers and Mr. Barnes. Welcome to our school.” A man in a purple button down shirt stepped forward and shook each of their hands. “I’m Mr. Shardes, I’m the principal here.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.” Steve said.

“Yeah.” Bucky added quietly.

“Well, I figured you guys could present in the auditorium, so if you’ll just follow me, I’ll show you there.” Mr. Shardes told them, leading the way out of the room. Steve was the first of their pack of people following Mr. Shardes, holding Bucky’s hand in his. Natasha walked just behind them, smirking.

“So, do you guys need the projector or anything?” Mr. Shardes asked them as they all stood on the auditorium stage.

“Just a couple microphones, thanks.” Alex responded, clearly knowing what she was doing.

“You guys all got the, like, script/guidelines-ish thingy I sent out, right? We know what we’re doing? You all know what you’re gonna say?” Cassandra asked the team. Everyone nodded. “Great, alright then. In about seven minutes they’re gonna bring the kids in here, so as long as we’re all ready to go, it’s almost time to get started.”

“This is so exciting!” Cooper was addressing Nat. “I’ve never done anything like this before. I’m kinda nervous, but mostly just excited. This is gonna be so cool.”

“Yeah, I’d say this is going to be really awesome. I’m glad you could make it, kid.” Nat told the 6th grade Cooper. They shared a smile. The PA system turned on, telling all the lowerclassmen to head to the auditorium. They were going to do the presentation twice, once with upperclassmen, and once with lowerclassmen.

Bucky took in a breath, then let it out. He could write from the comfort of his home all he wanted, he could make small talk in the coffeeshop whenever it was needed, but he’d never done anything like this. Not once in his life. Kids began to walk in through the auditorium doors. Bucky was just standing there on stage with everyone else, and he felt a little bit awkward. He put his hands in his pockets, then took them out again, shifting his weight from one leg to the other. Steve came over and out Bucky’s left hand in his right one.

“Hey, Buck. You’re gonna do great. I just know it.” Steve squeezed Bucky’s hand, and, though Bucky couldn’t feel it, he was looking at their hands and saw it. He smiled over at his boyfriend, who was looking out at the large mass of high schoolers that had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. Cassandra looked over at the two of them, holding up a questioning thumbs up. Bucky took a deep breath, then nodded at her. She looked over at Mr. Shardes.

“Alright, alright. Quiet down, boys and girls.” Steve could see Vi cringe slightly, but they kept a good face on. “We have some special guests here to talk to you about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, and the discrimination they face.” Mr. Shardes gestured towards the group of people on the stage. Cassandra smiled, pulling her mic up to her mouth.

“Thanks, Mr. Shardes. I’m Cassandra, and this is Alex. We’re here with The Avengers, a social justice group that you may or may not have heard of. Why don’t we just go down the line and introduce ourselves.” Cassandra spoke confidently. She passed the microphone to her left.

“Hello, I’m Clint.”

“I’m Cooper.”

“I’m Bucky.”

“My name’s Steve.”

“Hello, I’m Tony.”

“Hey, I’m Wanda.”

“Hello, I’m Vi.”

“Hey, guys, I’m Natasha. As you’ve been told, we’re here today to talk about LGBTQ people and the discrimination they face. Now, lgbtq+ is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning. There are actually many other genders and sexualities that fit within this acronym that are not specifically labeled with a letter, but it’s just an umbrella term.

“So, lgbt people are often discriminated against in the workplace, in schools, at home. Lots of kids are bullied because of the sexuality or gender, and often their families with not accept them for who they are, which makes it really difficult for lgbt youth. What we’re gonna do right now, is we’re going to each share our personal stories, and some difficulties we’ve faced.

“So, I’m asexual, and I knew this by the time I was a sophomore in high school. Now, I spent the majority of my childhood in the foster care system, so when I came out to my foster parents in high school, they pretty much just told me that it wasn’t a real thing, that I just wanted attention, that it wasn’t really their concern. They had other foster kids to take care of, they couldn’t be spending all their time on me just because I wanted to be special. So, my foster parents were not accepting of me, and they just kind’ve swept me aside. Another kid who was in the same foster family as I was told me that I was broken. He was older than me, and he hurt me because he didn’t think asexuality was a real thing. Just the sheer rejection that I faced within that foster family was too much for me.

“So, I ran away. I searched a shelter for homeless youth, and one night I just left. When I got there, I had to deal with certain difficulties, because at that moment I became a teenagerexperiencing homelessness. I no longer lived in comfort, and had to work to help myself when I would eventually need to get out on my own. It was a rough life, and honestly, I felt like just another statistic.

“But then Clint found me, took me under his wing, so to speak. He helped me out of that place, and now I’m doing better. I am proud to be asexual. That’s pretty much my story.” Natasha finished. She had spared some of the more frightening details since this was a slightly younger audience. Not all of the Avengers even knew that much of her story though, since she wasn’t very inclined to share details about her past. But Clint knew far more that she’d shared here. He looked over at her. She’d had a really hard life, but she was strong and resilient. Natasha passed the mic to Vi.

“Okay, well, my story doesn’t begin here, but rather in England.” They began. “I knew that I didn’t feel right as a girl, I never identified as a girl, everything about being a girl felt uncomfortable to me. But, mostly I just tried to ignore that uncomfort and continue living my life as I thought I was supposed to. But, eventually, there came a moment where I just had to face the truth that I am not a girl. For me, that moment was my last year in school in England, what you guys would call senior year.

“So, okay. I knew I wasn’t a girl. But… I also didn’t feel like a boy either. I had no idea where I was supposed to fit in. Over the summer, I looked online, spent hours pouring through different resources until I found who I am. I am genderqueer. Neither a guy nor a girl. It just suited me. But, despite the fact that it was a great relief to me that I finally knew what my identity was, and finally knew I wasn’t crazy, I didn’t want to come out right away.

“Then, within a month, I came here, to America, for university. When I came here, I just told everyone right from the start that I am genderqueer, and it was never questioned. I’ve only recently joined this community, only after I started university this year, but I feel more accepted than ever. It’s really great.” They handed the mic to their girlfriend.

“Alright, well, my twin brother and I grew up as orphans in europe, which was pretty crappy for us, but we always had each other. I told him that I wanted to move to the US, and so we worked until we had the funds and crossed the pond. Since he’s all I’ve ever had, when I started to question my sexuality, I told him immediately, and he was fully in support of me. Through the past few years that I’ve been here, I’ve come to the realization that I am polysexual.

“For those of you who don’t know, polysexual is being attracted to more than two genders, but not all of them. I’m attracted to girls, agender, and genderqueer people. I’ve had nothing but positivity in response to coming out, so I know I’m very lucky.” She passes the mic on to Tony.

“Hey, everyone! I guess I just always knew I was pansexual. That means I’m attracted to all genders. It’s pretty simple. I don’t know, I never really felt inclined to tell anyone because it didn’t matter very much to me. Then I came across The Avengers, who were at the time just a tiny group of friends who had a blog. Since a few of them were people I knew, I decided to just join. Now I’m an extremely flamboyant pansexual. Not much else to say.” With that simple story, he passed the mic on to Steve.

“So, in high school, I dated one person who was, at that time, identifying as a girl, though he is transgender, and never really was a girl. But, then we went off to college, and our paths split. It was in college that I realized I like boys, boys, and only boys. As it turns out, I’m gay. I told people in my dorm, and obviously some were against it, but my roommate Sam gave me nothing but support. I’ll always get hate for being gay, but I know I can’t control who I love, and I just so happen to love guys.” Steve realized his story was kind’ve short, but that was really it. He stood awkwardly for a second, before remembering to pass the mic to Bucky.

“I am transgender and bisexual. I was assigned female at birth, and, growing up, only really had one close friend, who was a guy. I kind’ve acted like a guy. But, I didn’t know that there was such a thing as transgender, so I didn’t see any option but to continue living as a girl. It always felt wrong, but I guess I never quite knew why.

“In college, I met a wonderful girl named Celeste. She was transgender. This was the first time I’d ever discovered that there were others out there like me, that the feeling of wrongness regarding my body, my name, my pronouns, was not an unnatural feeling. She was the first person I came out to, and soon after I came out to my family and the rest of my friends.

“At first, my parents weren’t sure how to react. They didn’t know that transgender existed, so they weren’t sure if it was a real thing or not. I did not receive very much support from them for the first few months of being out. But, my little sister Rebecca was there for me. She gave me support and helped me to reach my parents.

“I started my transition during the junior year of college. I got on testosterone, and wore a binder until I had saved up enough money for surgery. I legally changed my name from Briana to Bucky. Within two years of graduating college, nobody gave me strange glances anymore. Not every trans guy has to transition, but I did. Now I feel like my outsides finally match how I’ve always felt inside.

“Recently, I reconnected with Steve here, who I’d dated in high school.” Bucky wrapped his arm around Steve’s shoulders. “We clicked immediately, even though we didn’t recognize each other at first. Eventually, we went on a date, and it was perfect. Until it wasn’t. By that I mean we got attacked in the street late at night. For being gay. I don’t think our attackers even knew I was transgender, which probably would have made them want to attack me more.

“Some of you may have heard about us being attacked. Supposedly it was horrific, but I still can’t remember it. All I know is waking up in a hospital, my left arm gone from my body. It was the most terrifying experience I’ve ever had. For many gay or trans people, it is unsafe to walk down the street, and I’ve known that for a long time, I just never thought that it was unsafe for me to walk down the street. It’s terrifying.” Bucky stopped. He was done. He had nothing to conclude his story with, just the story itself. He and Steve were both thinking of the horrors they faced, but also of the happiness they had found. No matter what, they wouldn’t trade their love for anything. Bucky handed the microphone on off to Cooper.

“Hi. I’m Cooper, and that’s my dad, Clint.” Cooper began, gesturing vaguely toward his father. “I’m in 6th grade. For as long as I can remember, I’ve told everyone that someday I’m gonna have a husband. At first my parents thought it was cute, and tried to let me know that it didn’t work that way, and I’d actually have a wife. I never listened.

“I’ve just liked boys for as long as I can remember. Some tell me I’m too young to know, but I’m definitely gay. There is no denying that boys are gorgeous. So, in 5th grade, I decided to tell my parents. I’m not really sure what they thought about it, but at first they kind’ve laughed it off. Then I told them again that, no, I really am gay. I’m not really sure if they ever doubted it, but they always seemed supportive of me.

“The issue for me did not lie with my family. My whole family has been more than accepting of me. But, last May I told everyone at school that I’m gay. That didn’t go over as well. Most kids my age don’t even know what it means to be gay. All they know is that they use it as an insult. Make fun of each other by calling each other gay. So, naturally, they didn’t understand what I meant when I said I was gay. They didn’t understand, and they didn’t make an effort to understand. They just kind’ve made fun of me for it.

“Don’t get me wrong, my friends didn’t make fun of me. They get it. I like boys. They were just kind’ve like ‘Okay, Cooper. You like boys. That’s cool. Can we go play dodgeball now?’ and in that way I’m also lucky. But most kids my age just don’t understand that it’s okay to be gay. That’s basically it. Dad?” Cooper handed his father the mic.

“Well, I’m straight. I have a wife and three kids. It just so happens, however, that our oldest son has been telling us since he first learned to talk that one day he was gonna have a husband. At first we did laugh it off, like, ‘Oh, little kids, am I right?’ but then he outright told us he was gay. The first thing I did, was I called up Natasha to ask her questions. I didn’t understand how our son knew so early, but Nat is a close friend of mine, we’ve been through a lot together, and I knew she was knowledgeable about lgbt things.

“When I called her, she told me that kids can know at a young age, and that the best thing I could do was provide Cooper with unconditional love and support. So I did. She also asked me if I wanted to join The Avengers. So, I joined The Avengers, and supported Cooper. Look! Here he is! He’s such a sweet kid, there’s no way I could have done anything but love him. It’s pretty simple in that sense. I’m done now.” He awkwardly handed the mic over to Cassandra.

“Back to me! Yay! Well, my story is pretty plain, in that I realized I liked girls as well as guys when I was in 8th grade. I came out to my community as bisexual, and got a ton of support. There were some people who hated on me, but I like to stay with the positive, and my family and friends all support me, which is more than I could ask for. Alex?” She handed the mic to Alex.

“Hello. I am a lesbian. I’ve known for a fact that I am a lesbian since I was eleven. My parents did not support me at first. They are my biggest supporters now, and I love them to bits, but it took them a good four years to accept me. During those four years I moved, so I had to enter a whole new community. I thought it would be torturous, but the new school and community was a whole lot more accepting than my old one had been.

“In my old school, people had written slurs all over my locker in sharpie and called me names in the hallways. I got punched on three separate occasions for being gay, and the school rarely did anything to prevent the bullying. Then, when I moved schools, I discovered a much more accepting place. That’s where I live now. In my current school, there is a general feeling of acceptance for the most part. There is a gay/straight alliance in my new school and GLSEN safe space signs hang on the doors to most classrooms. In my new school, I can walk down the hallway holding hands with my girlfriend without being called names. It’s amazing.” Alex passed the mic back over to Cassandra.

“Alright, so, now we’re gonna talk about how you can be more inclusive, and how you can help prevent discrimination against lgbtq+ people in your life.” Cassandra began. However, Steve’s mind was elsewhere. Bucky’s arm was still around his shoulders, which made him feel protected. He needed that just then. He was thinking about all of their stories. Some had been easier to hear than others. He’d never know the full of Natasha’s story, and guessed that probably what he heard today was the most he’d ever get. Bucky squeezed his shoulders gently, noticing Steve was fidgeting with the button on his flannel, an anxious habit of his. No matter what, they would be there for each other, and Bucky was just reminding Steve that he was there. Steve leaned into his boyfriend for support, noticing the metal of Bucky’s arm. He loved Bucky, and thought he was beautiful with or without his metal arm, but for the first time since they’d gotten out of the hospital, he truly felt the weight of Bucky’s loss.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The sheer emotion of the day is enough to overcome Steve and Bucky as they walk back to the hotel together.

“Alright, well, goodnight!” Natasha called to Steve and Bucky as they all split from the entrance of the restaurant. Apparently all of the other Avengers had booked rooms in the same hotel, but Bucky and Steve had not. They’d opted for the Marriott and the rest of the group had chosen Hampton Inn. So, after they’d had dinner (and Natasha quite a bit of vodka) Bucky and Steve went right and everyone else went left. They walked in silence. Steve had been quiet all evening, and Bucky was trying to decipher why. He didn’t like to directly ask things like this.

As they walked, their hands brushed. Steve grabbed Bucky’s hand in his. The tactile contact was a comfort for both. Bucky looked to his right at Steve.

“Steve, are you okay?” He finally asked, quite tentative.

“What? Oh, yeah, I’m… fine.” Steve said, looking at the sidewalk. He wasn’t being extremely convincing.

“Steve, really,” Bucky stopped moving and turned to face Steve on the quiet sidewalk. “What’s going on?” Steve looked at Bucky’s metal arm, which was hanging by his side. He whispered something. “What’s that? I can’t hear you, Steve.”

“It’s just,” Steve cleared his throat, looking intently at Bucky’s metal arm. “It’s my fault.” He said in a whisper, his voice breathy. His eyes were pooling with tears.

“What do you mean, Steve? It couldn’t possibly be your fault. There’s nothing you could have done.” Bucky watched as a silent tear slipped out of Steve’s left eye.

“I should have been able to protect you.” He choked out, almost impossible for Bucky to hear.

“Steve, you did all you could. There were just too many of them. There was nothing you could have done.”

“I should have tried harder.” Steve looked at Bucky’s shoes, his vision blurry from tears.

“No, Steve. If you had done anything else, you might have died. I would not have been able to handle it if you died. You know that.”

“Yeah, but you could have died, too. I should’ve done better.” Steve was chewing on his upper lip, looking more like a child than a man. Bucky put his hands on either side of Steve’s jaw, pulling his face up. Steve’s eyes still would not meet Bucky’s.

“Steve. Look at me. Okay? Look at me because I’m here. I’m right here Steve. You did the best you could. If you had tried harder you might’ve died. And, Steve?”

“Yeah?” Steve responded, his voice hoarse as he looked into Bucky’s beautiful chocolate brown eyes.

“I could not live without you. Okay?” Bucky looked at Steve. He held Steve’s face in his hands. Steve’s hands were on Bucky’s arms.

“I love you.” Steve whispered, a voice on the wind. Bucky pulled Steve to him and held him tight, the way he had when Steve was small. Steve held Bucky’s shirt in his fists, shaking as Bucky felt Steve’s hot tears landing on his shirt. Bucky held Steve in a protective hug until he stopped shaking and his eyes were no longer waterfalls. “I’m sorry.” Steve said, wiping the wetness off his cheeks.

“Don’t be sorry, Steve. I love you.” Bucky gently placed his right hand on the back of Steve’s neck, bringing him to him for a kiss. Steve’s skin was still burning with emotion, his chest thumping sporadically as his lips brushed Bucky’s. Steve knotted his hands in Bucky’s shoulder length hair, holding Bucky gently to him. Bucky’s hands were on Steve’s waist as they kissed.

Quickly, Steve pushed Bucky back against the wall, placing his hands palm down on the bricks just outside of Bucky’s shoulders, as if penning him in. “Punk.” Bucky breathed against Steve’s lips, barely able to form the single syllable as he held onto Steve’s waist for dear life.

Steve leaned back, Bucky’s entire being still breathless against the wall. “Where in the hell did you learn to kiss like that?!” Bucky asked Steve, panting slightly. Steve just smiled slyly down at him. Steve had kissed Bucky the same way Bucky used to kiss Steve in high school. “Steve…” Bucky whispered lovingly, tracing Steve’s jaw with his finger.

Steve pulled Bucky up off the wall, almost like pulling him up from a dip while dancing. Thinking of that, he twirled Bucky. Bucky laughed a genuine laugh, and Steve smiled that smile that left Bucky completely defenseless. Steve wrapped his arm around Bucky’s shoulders, Bucky wrapping his around Steve’s waist and laying his head down on Steve’s shoulder. They walked back to their hotel room just like that, soaking each other’s warmth in the cool, crisp nighttime air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! This was really short, but I found it really satisfying to write, and I hope it's satisfying to read as well.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve is doing some very unexpected things... (:

Polite applause came from where they knew the audience to be. They could not see any of the people, however, due to the spotlights that made them glow like light bulbs up on the stage. It had been there last presentation at a school, and it had gone better than any of the others, just by sheer audience response. This particular school was already particularly LGBT friendly.

Bucky held Steve’s hand as they walked out to Steve’s car, which was completely packed and ready for the drive back home. This time Steve would be driving, but Bucky didn’t intend on falling asleep as Steve had. Instead, he was going to write.

“You know, I can’t believe that those kids actually had the courage to stand up on those stages and talk about those things. It’s really just so crazy.” Steve said, closing the driver's side door behind him as he sat down at the wheel.

“I can believe it. Some people are just brave.” Bucky said, looking over at Steve as he fiddled with his seatbelt. “Steve, you’re the bravest man I’ve ever met.” Steve looked up. “When we were kids, you picked a fight with anything that moved. I always thought you were being stupid and reckless. It was brave. Steve, you’ve always been so brave. You are just like those girls over there: you’re brave.” Bucky had no idea where he was going with that. After he said it, he kind’ve felt stupid because he knew it didn’t make sense. Steve was just staring at him, not moving. Bucky looked down at his feet, embarrassed.

“Bucky?” Steve asked hesitantly from the driver’s side seat. Bucky looked up. “Thank you.” Steve said, the realness of it all making his head spin. He’d known Bucky all through his life, his childhood. Oh, how special Bucky was. Steve reached his hand over and wrapped it around Bucky’s as they pulled out of the final school. He’d always known love.

* * *

 

“Good morning!” Steve chirped as he gently shook Bucky’s shoulder to wake him up. Bucky’s eyelids fluttered open, squinting in the morning light. He was lying on his bed in his apartment, though he felt quite sure he had fallen asleep in Steve’s car. Then there was the sight in front of his eyes as they adjusted to the light: Steve, sitting on a stool by Bucky’s bed, wearing a frilly pink apron, holding a plate, his sketchbook resting haphazardly on Bucky’s nightstand.

“Steve, I have so many questions right now.” Was all Bucky could manage to squeak out as he sat up.

“Shhh. You’ll just have to save those for later, ‘cause I made you breakfast.” Steve shoved a plate onto Bucky’s lap. It contained bacon and two cinnamon rolls. Those were his favorite ever since he’d first tried them in college, but Steve couldn’t possibly have known that. Bucky stared at Steve in disbelief.

“...Steve…?” Bucky asked, unsure whether it really was Steve sitting before him or some alien had abducted his boyfriend. Steve reached forward, squeezed Bucky’s hand, then stood up, grabbing his sketchbook from Bucky’s nightstand.

“There’s more in the kitchen if you want. I made a ton.” Steve said, gesturing toward the plate in Bucky’s lap as he strode out of the room, grinning like a child. Bucky just sat there for a minute, speechless. What…just…happened...? He picked up a cinnamon roll, taking a bite. He never knew that Steve could bake, but apparently Steve could bake. Bucky was so confused, but it all made him so happy. Steve had gotten up early to make Bucky’s favorite breakfast for him in bed. So, Bucky smiled to himself as he ate it, looking out his window at the glowing yellow morning light.

* * *

“Thank you for breakfast, Stevie. It was really delicious. I didn’t know you could bake.” Bucky said, as he walked into the kitchen and rinsed out his plate.

“I didn’t know I could bake, either until I tried. They were good, then?” Steve asked. Bucky smiled and nodded, remembering the wondrous taste of the sticky sweets. “Great. Here, have some coffee.” Steve handed Bucky a steaming mug as soon as Bucky turned away from the sink. Bucky took it and sipped. It was strong, and tasted almost like… “Single origin espresso.” Steve finished his thought for Bucky, making him look up from the mug. “You told me it was your favorite that afternoon in the coffee shop, remember?”

“But how…?” Bucky was at a complete loss for words. How did Steve know how to make single origin espresso? How did Steve know how to make cinnamon rolls? How did Steve know Bucky loved cinnamon rolls? Had Steve carried him in from the car, or what? Where did Steve get the apron? WHAT WAS GOING ON? “Steve, what on earth?” Bucky said, smiling confusedly as he took another sip of his coffee and leaned against the counter, trying to make sense of everything.

“What do you mean?” Steve asked, the picture of innocence in that pink apron.

“Just... everything. The coffee. Breakfast in bed. Cinnamon rolls. How long have you had that apron?!” Bucky was incredulous. Steve just smiled.

“You like the apron?” Bucky laughed, unable to resist how precious his boyfriend was.

“Maybe I do, ya little punk. You’ll have to wear it again sometime.” Bucky stepped forward, setting his coffee gently on the counter behind him. He placed his hand on the back of his boyfriend’s neck, and kissed him once, shortly, gently. “Whatever it is, thank you.” Bucky said, before strolling back to the counter to drink more of his coffee. Steve smiled at him, happy that everything he was doing made Bucky happy. He took a breath, ready to begin his day.

“Hey, Buck?” Steve asked.

“Hmmm?” Bucky responded while taking a sip from his mug.

“I was just, ya know, wondering if you maybe wanted to go take a walk through Brooklyn this afternoon? I haven’t been in awhile, and it’s be nice to see the old schools and apartments and stuff. Maybe we can catch a movie while we’re there or something.” Steve caught himself and stopped rambling. It was true that neither of them had really set foot in Brooklyn since they moved to Manhattan.

Yeah. That sounds great, Steve. Let’s do it.” Bucky agreed. They both smiled, Steve excitedly and Bucky curiously. Something was definitely going on, but whatever it was, it was bound to be great.

* * *

“Oh, look, that’s our old high school!” Bucky exclaimed as they turned a corner. They smiled, walking down the streets of Brooklyn hand in hand.

“Wow, it looks… exactly the same.” Steve said, pausing for a second as nostalgic memories flooded his mind.

“Remember when we had our first kiss on those steps right there?” Bucky asked Steve, pointing with his metal arm toward the front steps of their old high school.

“Yup. I was bleeding ‘cause I’d just gotten beat up..” Was Steve’s response.

“Oh, come on. You weren’t bleeding that bad. I think it was… special.” Bucky replied.

“I wasn’t denying it was special because it was special. I was just saying.” Steve glanced over at Bucky. He squeezed his hand tighter for a second before loosening again. They continued walking down the sidewalk. They came across a small park with a small, old playground in it.

“Hey! Dude!” Bucky exclaimed, immediately dashing toward the playground, pulling Steve along by the hand excitedly. “Remember this old place?! This is where I first asked you out because you were too chicken to do it yourself!” Steve’s face flushed, but he smiled. Bucky could always make him happy, no matter what.

“Yeah. I remember. I doubt I’d forget that, it was one of the highlights of my life.” Steve said as they came closer to the playground.

“Yeha…” Bucky sighed, strolling over the the old merry-go-round. “I did it right here. You were standing there, and I leaned up against the bar like this.” Bucky stood on the merry-go-round and leaned against one of the metals bars kids hang on to.

“Yup. Then you said to me: ‘Stevie, I really wanna be more than friends with you. Will you be my boyfriend?’ and I said yes, of course. It was such a shock for me. I was not expecting it, but I’d loved you for years, so it was perfect.” Steve responded, standing next to the merry-go-round and looking up at his boyfriend.

“That was the best day of my life.” Bucky replied airily. “It always will be.”

“You sure nothing could top that?” Steve asked.

“I’m sure.” Bucky replied.

“Well, I’m gonna try anyway.” Steve said.

“Whaddya mean, Stevie?” Bucky asked, his eyebrows pulling together as he just began to connect the dots.

“I mean, Bucky, that I love you. I’ve always loved you and I’ll love you ‘till the day I die.” Steve slowly lowered his right knee onto the mulch beneath his feet. “That’s why I’m doing this right now: Bucky Barnes. You are the love of my life. Will you marry me?”

Images spun in Bucky’s mind as his heart whirred with shock and love. Steve. Steve as a small child, picking flowers. Steve in second grade, sitting in a tree, drawing in his sketchbook. Steve taking Bucky’s hand in 8th grade when they’d both needed each other most. Steve kissing Bucky and spilling his heart during their Junior year. Steve in that coffee shop, sitting in the booth for an hour waiting. But, most importantly, he saw Steve, as he was now: kneeling before Bucky, a ring in his hand, looking hopefully up. That moment, that was it. That was Steve. That was everything.

“Yes.” Bucky heard himself say as he stared at the masterpiece that was Steve. “God, yes, Stevie. Yes!” It felt like the world was spinning. Steve gently took Bucky’s metal left hand in his, slipping the ring onto it. Somehow, as if by magic, it stayed. They both smiled for a second, the whole world holding still as they saw the gold band glint next to Bucky’s metallic finger.

“Do you like it?” Whispered Steve.

“It’s beautiful, Stevie. You’re beautiful. I love you.” Bucky’s sentences weren’t entirely coherent, much like his thoughts, as he tried to speak. Instead of trying to talk any longer, Steve stood up, gently grasping the Back of Bucky’s neck and pulling him to him. They kissed, long and slow, deep and perfect. This was their life. Their love. Nothing could shatter them now, and it was perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone liked the story. It certainly could use improvement, and I'm always open to suggestions. Thanks For reading!


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